325.243 
B38g 


M.   J.   Becker.     The  Germans  of  1849  in 
""America.  An  Address    ...  Columbus,   0. 

1887 


UimOIS  HISTORICAL  SURVEY 


I 


-m  THE  m^ 


Eeri-T]ai-]5  of  1549  in  Ai7]eriGa 


AN     ADDRKSS    DELIVERED    IJEKOKE 


iiidav  Clyl)  of 


fi 


V 


MRRCE  14,  IBB 7. 


By    M.    T  .    B  E  C  K  E.^  .  , 


t* 


.mt.  verxox,  o. 

The  Repiulicax  Printing  House. 

1SS7. 


-m  THE  #^ 


<     n 


61 


CO 


Eernians  ef  1549  in  Anieriea 


^  Thirtv-xine   vears   as^o   the   Central    States   of  conti- 

c4  nental  Europe  were  suddenly  convulsed  by  a  political 
commotion,  which,  although  unsuccessful  in  its  immediate 
objects,  has  nevertheless  left  an  indelible  impression,  not 
only  upon  the  local  history  of  the  countries  directly  con- 
cerned, but,  indirectly  also,  upon  the  affairs  of  this  countiy, 
which,  in  course  of  time,  became  the  refuge  and  permanent 

^ji  home  of  a  large  number  of  th?  prominent  actors  engaged  in 

"^  that  struggle. 

^  For  many  years  prior  to  1S4S  there  had  been,  in  various 

parts  of  Germanv,  more  or  less  secret  agitation,  and  a  few 
Vmstances  of  overt  manifestations,  indicating  the  existence  of 
a  movement  in  the  direction  of  political  reform.  But  these 
demonstrations  were  not  of  a  well-defined,  organized  char- 
acter. The  grievances  complained  of  were  mostly  of  local 
application,  and  the  remedies  proposed  consequently  lacked 
uniformity  of  purpose  and  concentration  of  effort,  and  they 
failed  as  a  matter  of  course. 

But  in  order  to  understand  the  situation  and  realize   the 


349'77? 


condition  of  the  country  as  it  existed  at  the  time  of  which  I 
am  about  to  speak,  it  Avill  be  necessary  to  sketch,  briefly, 
the  preceding  history  of  its  people;  and  since  the  marcli  ot 
pi'ogress  in  German\-  has  t>-ver  lieen  exceedingly  sIcav,  I  will 
be  obliged  to  go  back  over  quite  a  period  of  time,  so  as  to 
trace,  in  a  perceptil)le  measure,  the  steps  of  its  gradual 
development. 

For  nine  centuries,  prior  to  its  final  dissolution  in  1806, 
the  various  principalities  composing  the  German  Empire 
had  been  governed,  more  or  less  independently,  by  the 
princes,  dukes,  counts,  bishops  and  barons,  who,  by  fair 
means  or  foul,  by  inheritance  or  conquest,  by  purchase  or 
cxchansfe,  bv  gambling  or  In-  robbery,  became  possessed  of 
the  territories,  which,  for  the  time  being,  they  called  their 
own.  Tt)  follow,  even  approximately,  the  constantly- 
changing  outlines  of  these  possessions  during  the  passing 
centuries,  would  be  well-nigh  impossible,  even  if  it  were 
sufficiently  interesting,  or  of  importance  enough  to  warrant 
the  hopeless  task.  As  well  might  we  attempt  to  retain  in 
our  memories  the  varying  movements  of  the  ever-shitting 
clouds  in  the  skies. 

In  order  to  maintain  themselves  against  the  frequent 
invasions  of  foreign  foes,  and  at  the  same  time  to  control,  to 
a  certain  extent,  the  internal  relations  with  each  other,  these 
petty  rulers  had,  at  an  earh'  day,  found  it  necessary  to 
establish  some  central  authority,  which,  though  created  by 
themselves,  should  be  supreme  in  the  exercise  of  its 
delegated  powers. 

The  authority  thus  constituted  in  the  year  911,  devel- 
oped gradually  into  a  system  of  government,  which,  under 
the  name  of  the  ''  Holy  Roman  Empire,"'  survived,  during 
nine  centuries  of  almost  perpetual  strife,  the  numerous  wars 
incident  to  its  own  contests  for  succession,  the  revolt  of  the 
peasants    with   its   attendant   atrocities;   the    thirty  years    of 


bloody  religious  contest  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  17th 
century;  the  invasions  of  the  Swedes  from  the  North  and 
the  savao-e  raids  of  the  Turks  from  the  South;  the  incessant 
dissensions  within  its  own  borders  and  the  frequent  insur- 
rectionary outbreaks  among  its  own  subjects;  until,  at  the 
end  of  the  last  century,  it  crumbled  to  pieces  under  the 
upheavals  of  the  French  Revolution,  and  finally  died  in 
1806  under  the  staggering  blows  dealt  by  the  invincible 
armies  of  Napoleon  the  Great. 

The  executive  head  of  this  central  government  was 
chosen  by  a  board  of  electors,  selected  from  the  sovereigns 
of  the  separate  principahties,  partly  ecclesiastic  and  partly 
secular;  and  after  being  crowned  by  the  Pope,  the  chosen 
ruler  would  assume  the  title  of  Emperor.  Sometimes  the 
crown  would  descend  from  father  to  son  and  grandson 
through  successive  generations;  but  more  frequently  the 
dynastic  period  would  cease  with  the  life  of  a  single  ruler, 
and  that  life  was  not  always  terminated  by  a  death  from 
natural  causes. 

And  during  all  these  years  the  common  people — the 
serfs  and  peasants  —  would  toil  and  starve,  that  the  lords 
and  bishops  might  feast  and  carouse. 

The  soil  belonged  to  the  Church,  to  the  barons,  and  to 
the  lords;  and  they  owned  like^vise  the  game  in  the  forest, 
which  the  peasant  would  sometimes  be  permitted  to  start 
up  in  the  chase,  not  to  be  slain  and  eaten  by  himself,  but 
to  be  killed  at  leisure  by  his  lord,  and  then  to  be  carried  by 
the  serf  to  the  kitchen  in  the  castle  on  the  mountain,  to  be 
enjoyed  by  the  master  and  his  guests  at  the  banquet  in  the 
ancestral  hall,  after  a  gay  tournament  with  some  knight 
errant,  who,  in  search  of  adventure,  had  come  to  break  a 
lance  for  the  honor  of  his  lady-love. 

This  was  the  age  of  chivalry  and  romance,  of  trouba- 
dours and  knight-errantry,  of  which  sentimental  poets  sing 
in    rapture;   it    was    in    truth   the   age   of  beastly  brutality, 


barbarous  ignorance  and  base  superstition;  and  I  am  rigbt 
glad  it  is  over;  thanks  to  Johann  Huss,  to  Phibp  Melanch- 
thon  and  ^Martin  Luther,  who  inaugurated  the  Great 
Rehgious  Reformation;  to  Johann  Guttenberg,  who  in- 
vented the  printing  press  ;  and  to  Berthold  Schwarz,  who 
discovered  the  explosive  property  of  gunpowder. 

The  period  immediately  succeeding  the  Reformation  is 
especially  characterized  bv  the  fanatical  ferocity  of  its 
protracted  warfare;  the  wanton  destruction,  by  fire  and 
sword,  of  the  fertile  countries  along  the  Rhine,  by  the 
French  under  Turenne  during  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV.,  has 
left  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  a  deep-seated  resentment, 
which  has  been  nursed  through  the  memories  of  successive 
generations,  and  calls  out  for  vengeance  even  this  day. 
During  the  middle  of  the  iSth  century,  the  German  Empire 
was  ensfa^ed  in  a  long  and  disastrous  war  with  Frederick' 
the  Great,  the  audacious  King  of  the  rapidlv-rising  new 
Kingdom  of  Prussia;  and  near  the  end  of  that  century  it 
became  involved  in  a  war  with  the  revolutionary  leaders  of 
the  French  Republic,  which  ended,  after  the  unsuccessful 
campaign  of  1792,  in  which  Prussia  had  joined  the  German 
Emperor,  in  the  temporary  peace  of  1797;  but  the  renewed 
aggressions  of  the  restless  French  Republicans  resulted  in 
another  war,  which  again  terminated  in  defeat,  followed  by 
another  disastrous  peace  in  iSoi,  by  the  terms  of  which  the 
ecclesiastical  possessions  were  abolished,  and  much  territory 
lost. 

Not  satisfied  yet,  the  French,  upon  some  trifling  jDre- 
text,  provoked  another  war  in  1S05,  and  once  more 
defeated,  not  only  the  German  Emperor,  but  also  his  allies, 
England  and  Russia,  in  the  disastrous  battle  of  Ulm, 
followed  by  the  overwhelming  defeat  of  Austerlitz,  which 
battle  Napoleon,  in  the  pride  of  his  newly-assumed  title, 
delighted    to    call    tlic    battle    of  the    "  Three    Emperors." 


With  this  defeat  ended  the  German  Empire,  in  the  ahdica- 
tion  of  Francis  II.  of  Austria,  in  iSo6. 

The  period  intervening  between  the  dissohition  of  the 
Empire,  and  the  war  of  deUverance  in  1S13,  embraces  the 
darkest  days  of  Germany's  history.  Conquered,  humihated, 
oppressed,  insulted;  its  rulers  dethroned,  exiled,  imprisoned; 
its  male  population  dragged  into  the  armies  of  the  con- 
queror, and  placed  in  the  front  rank  of  his  battles  against 
their  own  kindred  and  countrymen;  its  cities  and  fortresses 
garrisoned  bv  the  insolent  foe,  or  razed  to  the  ground  by 
treaty  stipulations,  after  successfully  resisting  siege  and 
assault;  the  houses  of  its  citizens  turned  into  barracks,  the 
farms  devastated  and  the  crops  destroyed  by  the  marches, 
battles  and  camps  of  contending  armies.  These  were  years 
of  gloom,  misery  and  mourning.  But  the  day  of  deliver- 
ance and  retribution  came  at  last. 

When  Napoleon,  with  the  shivering  remnant  of  his 
nearly-annihilated  army,  returned  from  Russia  in  the  winter 
of  1813,  his  involuntary  German  allies  saw  their  opportuni- 
ty and  deserted  him  almost  to  a  man.  They  issued  patriotic 
appeals  to  their  dear  subjects  to  arise,  and  with  "  God  for 
King  and  Country  ",  expel  the  foreign  despot,  who,  upon 
the  soil  of  his  helpless  allies,  had  been  fighting  his  battles, 
for  the  glory  of  France,  with  the  treasure  and  blood  of  his 
conquered  victims.  And  with  these  appeals  were  given 
fair  promises  and  royal  pledges  of  constitutional  liberties 
and  a  recognition  of  the  rights  of  the  people.  And  bravely 
did  the  people  respond  to  the  royal  appeals,  and  heroically 
did  they  rise  en  masse,  and  never  did  they  stop  until  the 
Corsican  usurper  was  safely  quartered  on  board  the 
"  Bellerophon,"  bound  for  the  island  beyond  the  equator 
where  he  died;  and  after  the  foreign  despot  had  been  thus 
disposed  of  and  peace  was  restored,  the  good  people  of 
Gcrmanv,    in    the   first   enjoyment  of  their  blessed  security 


and  gradually-returning  prosperity,  did  not  at  onqe  discover 
that  thirty-six  domestic  despots  had  simply  stepped  in  and 
quietly  taken  his  place. 

When,  at  last,  after  the  tinal  otherthrow  of  Napoleon, 
the  victorious  princes  of  Germany  repossessed  themselves 
of  their  principalities,  divided  the  spoils  of  the  conquest, 
and  re-adjusted  the  boundary  lines  of  their  territories,  the 
political  and  geographical  situation  v\-as  of  course  very  much 
different  from  that  of  the  German  Empire  at  the  time  of  its 
dissolution,  ten  years  before.  Prussia  had  risen,  by  its  own 
elevation,  from  a  small  electorate  to  a  kingdom,  as  early  as 
1 701,  and  had  maintained  its  new  position  through  a  bloody 
war  of  seven  3'ears'  duration,  in  spite  of  the  opposition  of 
the  German  Emperor  and  nearly  all  the  other  powers  of 
Europe  combined.  Napoleon,  after  dividing  the  better  por- 
tions of  Germanv  between  his  brother  and  brother-in-law, 
had  permitted  the  electors  of  Bavaria  and  Wurtemberg  to 
assume  the  titles  of  Kings,  and  rewarded  them  with  an 
increase  of  territory  for  their  services  and  assistance. 

The  purely  ecclesiastical  sovereignties  had  been  abol- 
ished during  the  early  successes  of  the  French  Revolution; 
the  number  of  free  cities  had  been  considerablv  reduced, 
and  the  old  landmarks  were  extensively  and  radically 
changed  everywhere  during  the  reconstruction  of  affairs 
subsequent  to  the  final  exportation  of  Napoleon  after  his 
defeat  at  Waterloo.  Yet  when,  in  iSi:;,  they  all  came  to- 
gether and  formed  that  famous  confederation  known  as  the 
"  Bundesrath,"  there  were,  exclusive  of  the  free  cities,  still 
thirty-six  distinct  sovereigns  left  to  rule,  bv  the  grace  of 
God,  over  our  blessed  fatherland. 

Twenty  years  of  continuous  wars  and  foreign  occupa- 
tion had  thoroughly  exhausted  the  country;  and  the  poor 
people  naturally  turned  their  attention  more  closely  to  the 
I'estoration  of  their  material  interests  than  to  the  realization 


of  those  dimly-outlined  liberties  which  had  been  pledged  as 
the  reward  of  their  heroic  patriotism. 

Sweet  patience  has  ever  been  the  German's  crowning 
virtue,  and,  at  the  time  of  which  I  speak,  it  was  intensified 
bv  the  re-action  which  followed  an  vinusual  exertion. 

The  peasants  contentedly  raised  their  crops,  which 
were  generally  small,  and  uncomplainingly  paid  their  taxes, 
which  were  invariably  large,  realizing,  in  their  stolid  way, 
that  their  lot  was  indeed  a  hard  one,  but  thanking  the  Lord 
that  it  was  not  worse.  The  merchants  and  tradesmen  sold 
their  goods  for  lower  prices  than  they  had  realized  during 
the  inflated  period  of  the  war,  but  they  were  quite  satisfied 
that  thev  could  call  the  reduced  profits  their  own,  and 
were  no  longer  compelled  to  pay  the  ransoms  exacted  by 
the  marauding  Frenchman  as  an  alternative  against  sacking 
and  pillage. 

The  so-called  "  German  Bund,"  or  Diet,  was  an  organi- 
zation composed  of  the  sovereigns  of  the  different  states  of 
re-constructed  Germany;  its  fundamental  laws  were  formu- 
lated at  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  after  the  first  deposition  of 
Napoleon,  and  were  afterwards  ratified  and  amplified  by 
the  treaty  of  Paris,  after  Napoleon's  final  overthrow.  In 
its  original  formation,  and  in  its  subsequent  delibei'ations  and 
enactments,  the  people  had  no  voice.  Its  avowed  object 
was  to  provide  for  defence  against  external  enemies,  and 
to  guarantee  the  integrity  of  the  various  j^i'ii^cijDalities  of 
which  it  was  composed.  It  was  considered  a  permanent 
body,  always  subject  to  call  after  adjournment.  Austria 
held  the  presiding  office;  the  total  number  of  votes  was  71, 
divided  between  the  39  states  and  free  cities,  each  of  which 
had  at  least  one  vote  —  Init  some  of  the  larger  states  had 
four  or  five.  Two-thirds  of  the  votes  constituted  a  majority. 
A  so-called  interior  or  select  council,  composed  of  seventeen 
votes,  in  which   a  number  of  the  smaller  states  collectively 


lO 


represented  one  vote,  and  in  which  simple  phiraHty  ruled, 
was  charged  with  the  execution  of  the  measures  adopted  by 
the  larger  body.  The  meetings  were  usually  held  in 
Frankfurt-on-the-Main,  and  were  generally  conducted  by 
accredited  ambassadors  of  the  ruling  sovereigns,  who 
seldom  attended  in  person. 

The  original  constitution  of  this  "  Bund  "  provided  that 
all  the  states  and  principalities  composing  its  organization 
should  establish,  within  their  own  territories,  constitutional, 
representative  local  governments  for  the  administration  of 
their  internal  affairs;  that  the  exercise  of  all  forms  of  the 
Christian  religion  should  be  free  in  all  the  states,  and  that 
the  religious  status  of  the  Jews  should  be  taken  into  consid- 
eration at  an  early  day;  that  citizens  of  one  state  should  be 
allowed  to  acquire  and  own  real  property  in  any  other  state; 
that,  subject  to  the  military  duty  due  by  citizens  to  their 
native  states,  emigration  and  acceptance  of  civil  offices  in 
other  states  should  be  permitted.  Liberty  of  the  press,  in  a 
restricted  form,  was  promised,  and  rules  were  established 
governing  copyright;  postal  regulations,  and  laws  regarding 
commerce  and  navigation,  were  passed;  in  its  relations  with 
the  other  European  powers,  the  ''Bund,"  representing 
Germany  as  a  whole,  took  position  as  an  independent 
state,  sending  its  own  ambassadors  to  foreign  countries, 
and  receiving  theirs  in  return. 

Under  the  provisions  of  this  constitution,  a  number  of 
the  smaller  states  in  Southern  Germany  had,  at  an  early  day, 
and  under  various  forms,  organized  constitutional,  represen- 
tative governments;  but  when,  in  1819,  some  symptoms 
of  political  agitation  In  various  parts  of  the  country  mani- 
fested themselves,  the  "Bundesrath,"  in  a  special  session, 
convened  at  Karlsbad,  so  amended  its  constitution  and  laws 
as  to  materially  modify  the  rights  and  liberties  already 
granted,  and  revoking  and   qualifying   many  of  its  pledges 


1 1 


for  future  reforms.  At  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  held  by  the 
"Bundesrath"  hi  1S19  and  1S30,  some  further  restrictions 
were  placed  upon  the  exercise  of  previously-granted  liber- 
ties; commissions  were  established  to  supervise  the  schools 
and  universities;  Censors  were  appointed  to  regulate  all 
pubUcations,  especially  the  newspaper  press  and  periodicals; 
and  peremptory. orders  were  issued  to  all  the  states  which 
had  established  representative  local  governments,  to  the 
effect  that  the  monarchical  principle  must  be  recognized  as 
supreme  in  all  their  actions  and  deliberations. 

In  1S30,  co-incident  with  the  movement  in  France 
which  sent  Charles  X.  into  exile  and  installed  in  his  place 
the  citizen-king  Louis  Philippe,  Germany  became  some- 
what excited,  and  loud  complaints  were  uttered  everywhere 
at  the  long-delayed  fulfillment  of  the  promises  made  in  1S15. 

In  Frankfurt  a  feeble  attempt  was  made,  under  the 
leadership  of  some  university  students,  to  inaugurate  an 
insurrection,  which  was  speedily  suppressed,  and  was  fol- 
lowed by  imprisonment  of  the  leaders,  and  by  the  expulsion 
of  many  of  the  followers.  The  "Bundesrath"  found  in  this 
attempt  sufficient  excuse  for  further  restrictions.  All  public 
assemblies,  the  formation  of  societies,  the  wearing  of  badges, 
the  carrving  of  flags  or  banners,  were  prohibited.  Students 
were  forbidden  to  attend  lectures  at  certain  foreign  universi- 
ties; the  sale  and  circulation  of  a  large  number  of  books  ot 
certain  authors  was  prohibited  under  severe  penalties,  and 
even  the  journeymen  of  the  various  trades,  who  from  time 
immemorial  had  been  permitted  to  pursue  their  vocations 
abroad,  and  who  roamed  habitually  all  over  the  country  in 
search  of  occupation,  were  forbidden  to  visit,  certain  locali- 
ties, where,  it  was  feared,  they  might  absorl:)  ideas  inimical 
to  the  interests  of  monarchical  government. 

Measures  were  also  taken  to  perfect  the  military  organ- 
ization' of  the   "Bund";   the  contingent  to  be   furnished  bv 


12 


each  state  for  the  army  was  increased;  certain  fortresses 
were  set  apart,  and  specially'garrisoned  by  the  troops  of  the 
Federation;  and  the  miHtary  relations  of  the  states  to  the 
"Bund"  and  to  foreign  powers  were  definitely  fixed. 

Such,  in  mere  outline,  was  the  condition  of  Germany 
prior  to  the  outbreak  in  the  Spring  of  1S4S. 

When  you  consider  that  the  situations  and  conditions  in 
tlic  different  States  varied  not  only  amonor  themselyes,  but 
lacked  iniiformity  in  their  relations  to  the  "Bund"  as  their 
central  authority;  that  the  basis  of  representation  in  those 
states  which  maintained  some  semblance  of  constitutional 
gpyernment  rested  upon  a  great  variety  of  conditions;  that 
all  these  representative  bodies  depended  for  their  very  exis- 
tence upon  the  pleasure  of  the  sovereigns  who  could 
convene  or  dissolve  them  at  will;  that  the  governments  of 
the  larger  states  were  mere  monarchical  absolutisms;  that 
the  unequal  relations  which  the  different  states  bore  to  each 
other  gave  rise  to  many  difficulties,  for  which  no  permanent 
remedies  could  be  found;  that  the  varying  interests  of  the 
ruling  sovereigns  were  by  no  means  conducive  to  harmony 
among  themselves;  that  the  re-division  of  the  different  sec- 
tions of  the  country,  after  the  establishment  of  peace,  had 
torn  asunder  old  relations  and  compelled  the  amalgamation 
of  new  elements  which  would  not  readily  combine;  and 
when  you  further  add  to  all  this  the  univei'sal  discontent 
caused  by  excessive  and  constantly-increasinof  taxation,  you 
can  imagine  that  a  general  feeling  of  discontent  and  dissat- 
isfaction prevailed  among  the  people,  and  that  at  the  very 
first  favoralile  opportunity  they  would  make  demand  for 
such  measures  of  reform,  and  for  redress  of  such  special 
grievances  as  each  class  and  occupation  would  feel  to  be 
more  particularly  oppressive. 

This  opportunity  at  last  presented  itself,  when,  in  the 
latter    jxirt    of   February,    1S48,   the  stimulus  given   liy   the 


13 

successful  revolutit)n  in  Paris,  which  drove  Louis  Philippe 
into  exile,  aroused  the  entire  continent,  and  stirred  even  the 
souls  of  the  phlegmatic  Germans  into  action,  culminating 
during  the  early  Spring  in  sudden  flashes  of  open  revolt  in 
Berlin,  in  \"ienna  and  along  the  Southern  1:K)rders  of  the 
Duchy  of  Baden. 

Insionificant  as  these  earlier  demonstrations  must 
appear  when  viewed  in  the  light  of  subsequent  events,  they 
nevertheless  had  the  cflect  of  wringing  from  the  frightened 
rulers  partial  concessions  antl  promises  of  future  redress. 
Relying  upon  these  assurances,  the  people  composed  them- 
selves for  the  moment  and  quietly  devoted  the  succeeding 
summer  to  the  establishment  and  perfection  of  such  reforma- 
tory measures  as  had  been  recently  inaugurated,  the  election 
of  representatives  to  the  state  legislatures,  and  the  choosing 
of  members  for  the  National  Parliament  which  was  at  last 
to  lav  the  foundation  for  the  long-drcamed-of  unification  of 
Germany. 

Meantime,  the  Provisional  Government  and  the  ultra- 
revolutionary  element  in  France  had  been  overthrown  by 
the  combined  re-actionary  factions  in  the  sanguinary  battles 
upon  the  pavements  of  Paris  in  the  month  of  June, 
and  the  popular  outbreak  in  Frankfurt  in  support  of  the 
measures  proposed  by  the  democratic  members  of  Parliament 
had  been  suppressed  in  September  by  the  cannon  and  bayo- 
nets of  the  united  armies  of  Prussia,  Austria,  Hesse  and 
Bavaria,  and,  as  the  winter  approached,  the  emperors,  kings 
and  grand  dukes  gradually  i-ecovered  from  their  fright  and 
beoran  to  breathe  easier.  The  Crown  Prince  of  Prussia  (the 
present  Emperor  Wilhelm),  who  had  been  chased  out  of  the 
the  country  in  March,  and  had  taken  refuge  in  England, 
returned  to  Berlin;  the  disheartened  rulers  regained  their 
courage ;  a  general  re-action  began ;  concessions  were  revoked ; 
remonstrances     were    spurned;     petitions     were    haughtily 


H 


rejected;  riotous  demonstrations  were  put  down  with  unnec- 
essary cruelty  and  the  participants  were  punished  Avitli 
unusual  severity.  After  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion  in 
Vienna,  in  the  autumn  of  1848,  nian\'  of  the  captives  were 
condemned  bv  court  martial  and  shot. 

The  winter  of  1848  to  1849  ^^ '^^  passed  in  darkest 
gloom  ;  the  people,  discouraged  by  failure  and  embittered  bv 
disappointment,  were  growing  restless  and  desperate  by 
degrees. 

In  the  meantime,  France,  which  had  given  the  first 
impulse,  and  which  had  been  severely  stunned  by  the  stag- 
gering blow  it  had  received  in  June,  had  now  elected,  after 
an  exciting  campaign,  Prince  Louis  Napoleon  as  President 
of  the  Republic,  which  meant,  as  every  intelligent  observer 
could  even  then  plainlv  foresee,  a  return  to  a  monarchical 
government. 

As  a  tcmporar}-  administrator  of  the  aflairs  of  Germanv, 
Parliament  had  chosen,  in  the  early  summer  of  1S4S,  the 
Archduke  John  of  Austria,  in  whose  election  the  princes  of 
the  smaller  principalities,  and  the  people  generally,  aqui- 
esced  ;  but  Austria  and  Prussia  never  recognized  his 
authority. 

Parliament  had  also  succeeded,  after  much  discussion, 
in  adopting  a  series  of  articles  embodying  the  framework 
for  a  future  constitution.  But  they  failed  to  give  satisfac- 
tion to  anv  one  ;  thev  did  not  express  the  wishes  of  the 
people,  and  it  was  quite  apparent  that  they  would  not  be 
respected  by  the  rulers. 

On  the  28th  of  jSIarch,  1849,  the  imperial  crown  of 
Germanv  was  offered  by  the  majority  of  Parliament  to  the 
Kingf  of  Prussia,  Frederick  William  IV.;  the  smaller  states 
accepted  the  choice,  but  Bavaria,  Wurtemberg,  Hanover' 
and  Saxony  refused  :  ^Vustria  formally  protested,  and  after 
some  hesitation,  Frederick  William  himself  declined. 


Thus  were  the  fruits  of  a  whole  yeiu's  parHamentary 
labor  lost,  and  the  hopes  of  the  people  destroyed.  All 
further  efforts  by  these  means  appeared  now  like  mockery, 
and  the  prolonged  deliberations  of  Parliament  henceforth 
seemed  but  a  farce. 

There  was  but  one  course  left,  aiul  that  was — Rev- 
olution. 

It  began  early  in  Ma}',  1849.  \\  ith  the  expulsion  of  the 
Grand  Duke  of  Baden,  who,  with  his  family  and  court,  and 
the  higher  civil  and  military  ofllicers.  departed  in  great  haste 
at  the  sudden  uprising  of  his  people,  who  were  now  fully 
aroused  and  in  bitter  earnest.  The  rank  and  file  of  the 
army,  and  a  few  officers  of  lower  grade,  joined  the  people 
and  established  a  provisional  government  at  Carlsruhe  ;  the 
places  of  the  deserted  officers  were  filled  from  the  ranks 
and  the  troops  marched  to  the  frontiers  to  resist  the  invasion 
which  would  be  sure  to  follow,  unless  equal  success  should 
attend  simultaneous  movements  elsewhere.  The  adjoining 
Bavarian  province  across  the  Rhine  followed  the  example 
of  its  neighbors  in  Baden,  and  the  people  took  posses'slon  of 
the  offices  left  vacant  by  the  departed  functionaries  ;  the 
garrisons  (excepting  that  in  the  Fortress  of  Landau)  fra- 
ternized with  the  people.  Volunteers  in  great  numbers 
poured  in  from  all  parts  of  the  country.  An  uprising  had 
taken  place  at  Dresden,  but  was  suppressed,  and  the  fugi- 
tives from  Saxony  joined  the  insurgents  in  Baden  and 
Rhenish  Bavaria ;  soldiers  deserted  in  many  places  and 
swelled  the  ranks  of  the  Revolutionists,  who,  for  a  period 
of  about  a  month,  had  things  all  their  own  wa}'. 

Meantime,  Prussia,  Hesse-Darmstadt  and  Nassau  gath- 
ered up  their  forces  and  concentrated  them  along  the 
Northern  borders  of  Baden  and  the  adjoining  states  in 
rebellion  ;  a  few  preliminary  skirmishes  took  place  on  the 
Southern    frontier   of  Darmstadt,   and    finallv,    in    the   latter 


i6 


part  of  I  line,  the  armies  of  iinasion  approached  in  force 
alono-  both  shores  of  the  Rhine,  and  also  crossed  the 
Bavarian  hne  in  two  ccjkunns  from  the  North  and  West, 
conNerorinof  as  thev  athanced.  The  Fortress  of  Landau  had 
remained  in  possession  of  the  loyal  troops  of  Bavaria,  not- 
withstanding a  bold  attempt  to  capture  it,  and  with  such  a 
dangerous  enemy  in  the  rear,  it  was  not  considered  safe  to 
risk  any  decisive  engagement  in  its  vicinity  ;  the  Revolu- 
tionary forces  retreated,  therefore,  slowly  before  the 
invading  armies,  and  after  a  few  unimportant  engagements, 
crossed  the  Rhine  opposite  Carlsruhe,  and  joined  the  better- 
organized  and  much  larger  forces  in  the  Duchy  of  Baden. 
A  severe  cnsrasfemcnt  was  fought  at  Waghausel  near 
Mannheim,  in  which  the  present  Crown  Prince  of  Prussia, 
who  had  accompanied  his  father  on  this  expedition,  was 
slightly  wounded,  and  in  which  it  required  the  assistance  of 
the  Prussian  Reserves  to  maintain  the  position  of  the  invad- 
ing army.  After  another  engagement  near  Upstadt  between 
the  Revolutionary  troops  from  Bavaria  and  the  Prussians, 
the  combined  forces  of  the  rebellion  took  position  on  a  line 
extendinor  from  the  Rhine  on  the  left  to  the  frontier  of 
Wurtemberg  on  the  right,  with  the  strong  Fortress  of 
Rastadt  a  little  to  the  left  of  the  center.  At  this  point  an 
obstinate  resistance  was  made,  and  the  position  was  only 
abandoned  after  two  days  of  severe  fighting,  when  the 
troops  of  the  adjoining  Kingdom  of  Wurtemberg  crossed 
the  frontier  and  attacked  the  insurgents  in  the  rear. 
With  this  engagement  ended  the  armed  resistance  in  the 
field.  A  large  part  of  the  army  took  shelter  in  the  Fortress 
of  Rastadt,  where  they  withstood  a  siege  of  nearly  a  month, 
while  the  remainder,  constantly  diminished  by  desertion,  re- 
treated slowly  before  the  advancing  Prussians  and  other 
German  troops,  through  the  Black  Forest  to  the  borders  of 
Switzerland,    where    they    were     disarmed    by    the    Swiss 


'7 


authorities  ami  permitted  to  take  refuge  in  the  (hflerent 
eantons  of  the  confederation.  The  rank  and  fde  were  quar- 
tered and  subsisted  at  the  expense  of  the  Swiss  Government, 
until  thev  gradually  took  advantage  of  the  proffered  pardon 
and  returned  home.  The  leaders,  who  could  not  return, 
settled  down  temporarily  in  various  parts  of  Switzerland;  but 
in  the  vSpring  of  1850  the  Swiss  Government,  under  pressure 
from  its  surrounding  neighbors,  induced,  under  the  promise 
of  assistance,  the  greater  munl)er  to  leave  the  countr\-.  A 
general  exodus  followed;  Holland,  Belgium,  South  America 
and  England  were  sought  by  many,  but  by  far  the  greater 
number  embarked  for  the  United  States  at  once. 

The  struggles,  hardships,  privations  and  sutierings  en- 
dured bv  most  of  these  men  during  the  earlier  days  of  their 
American  experience  would  form  extremely  interesting,  but 
in  manv  instances  very  sad  chapters  in  the  histories  of  their 
checkered  lives.  Many  fell  by  the  wayside  exhausted,  and 
died  of  want  in  the  crowded  cities  of  the  Eastern  coast: 
some,  in  utter  despair,  cut  short,  with  their  own  hands,  the 
hopeless  misery  of  their  wretched  existence.  That  the  occu- 
pations which  some  were  forced  to  accept  did  not  in  all 
cases  afford  opportunities  for  improving  the  advantages  ot 
their  earlier  education,  may  be  readily  imagined.  I  remem- 
ber well,  that  in  my  o\vn  case,  while  I  was  trimming 
toothsome  bunches  of  bright  red  early  radishes,  and  tying  up 
bundles  of  fragrant  young  onions  for  the  daily  market,  long- 
before  the  rising  of  the  summer  sun,  upon  a  garden  farm  on 
Long  Island,  I  often  bewailed  the  misdirected  applications 
of  mv  earlv  youth;  and  even  the  mathematical  tracing  of  the 
parallel  furrows  for  the  transplanting  of  beets  and  cabbages, 
and  the  engineering  precision  displayed  in  the  setting  out  ot 
the  succulent  tomato  vines,  failed  to  satisfy  my  professional 
ambition;  nor  did  I  consider  the  compensation  of  four  dollars 
per  month  for  fifteen  hours  of  daily  toil  an  adequate  reward 


x8 


for  skilled  labor  like  this.  It  is  true.  I  had  board  and 
lod^inp;  besides.  The  board,  1  am  bound  to  sav,  was  inferior 
in  kind,  though  ample  in  quantity;  but  the  lodging  was  on 
a  most  liberal  scale.  1  had  the  wh  )le  of  Long  Island  to 
sleep  on,  \vith  millions  of  mosquitoes  svveetlv  singing  their 
lullabvs. 

One  day  I  met,  in  the  lower  part  of  New  York,  a 
^ oung  sculptor,  who  in  his  early  youth  had  been  a  school- 
fellow of  mine,  and  who,  while  pursuing  his  studies  at  the 
^Vcademv  of  I'ine  Arts  in  Paris,  had  been  drawn  into  the 
common  whirlpool  of  rebellion,  and  after  drifting  about  for 
a  while  in  Belgium  and  England,  had  arrived  in  America  a 
short  time  before.  Although  still  quite  young,  he  had 
achieved  remarkable  success,  and  had  been  rewarded  with 
a  prize  medal  in  recognition  of  his  talent  and  genius.  We 
were  glad  to  see  each  other.  After  a  rapid  exchange  of 
experiences,  I  ventured  to  ask  how  he  was  prospering  in 
his  profession.  "  Ah,  you  should  come  to  my  studio  and 
see  for  yourself,"  he  said  ;  *'  I  am  just  now  engaged  in 
putting  the  last  finishing  touches  upon  some  magnificent 
masterpieces  of  plastic  art  ;  you  must  see  them,  before  they 
leave  my  studio."  Responding  to  his  invitation,  I  found 
him,  a  few  davs  afterwards,  in  a  low,  dingy  back  room  of  a 
small  carpenter  shop  in  Greenwich  Street,  busilv  engaged 
in  rubbing  down  with  sandpaper  the  colossal  limbs  of  a 
wooden  Pocohontas,  destined  to  adorn  the  entrance  door  of 
a  tobacco  shop. 

But  in  accordance  with  the  law  of  natural  selection,  in 
the  universal  strusfsfle  for  existence,  the  fittest  will  always 
survive;  and  if  I  have  not  already  completely  exhausted 
\our  patience,  I  will  sketch,  in  brief  outlines,  the  histories 
of  a  few  of  the  prominent  survivors  of  this  struggle. 


^9 


FREDERICK   IIECKER. 

First  in  point  of  time,  and  foremost  in   prominence  and 
distinction,  came  Frederick  Hecker. 

When,  after  the  few  temporary  poi^uhir  successes  of 
the  early  Spring  of  1S48,  the  i^eople  throughout  Germany, 
elated  with  their  triumphs,  confiding  in  the  promises  of 
their  vanquished  and  compliant  rulers,  and  hoping  for  a 
peaceful  realization  of  their  long-cherished  hopes,  sent  their 
hastily-chosen  representatiAcs  to  the  Provisional  Convention 
at  Frankfurt,  with  instructions  to  formulate  the  outlines  and 
construct  the  rudimentary  framework  upon  which  the 
eventual  permanent  Parliament  should  build  its  ship  of 
state,  Hecker,  who  had  been  chosen  as  one  of  the  delegates, 
realized,  at  an  early  day,  that  it  would  be  in  vain  to 
look  to  this  body  for  the  realization  of  his  hopes.  There 
was  manifestly  a  very  wide  division  among  the  delegates 
regarding  the  general  objects  in  view;  and  while  they  all 
agreed  that  the  spirit  of  the  age  demanded  some  measures 
of  reform,  it  soon  became  evident,  that  in  regard  to  their 
range  and  extent,  and  the  means  of  accomplishing  them, 
the.  sentiment  of  the  Convention  was  greatly  divided.  The 
conservative  side  of  the  house  insisted  upon  the  fullest 
maintenance  of  the  prerogatives  of  the  ruling  sovereigns, 
and  the  strictest  adherence  to  the  monarchical  form  of 
government;  and  the}'  limited  their  concessions  to  the 
people  to  a  restricted  system  of  representation,  a  moderate 
exercise  of  the  liberty  of  the  press  under  governmental 
supervision,  and  the  right  to  assemble  for  peaceable 
purjooses  by  special  permission;  they  preferred  the  continu- 
ance of  the  old  "  Bundesrath  "  —  with  some  modifications 
—  as  the  central  government  for  united  Germany. 

The   moderate   liberal   party    of  progression    demanded 


20 


coustitutiunal  monarchical  j^uvcrmiieats,  with  responsible 
cabinet  ministers  for  the  several  states;  unrestricted  liberty 
of  the  press;  a  reduction  of  the  standing  armies,  and  an 
Emperor  for  the  ruler  of  united  Germany,  to  be  elected  by 
Parliament.  The  radical  members  of  the  extreme  left 
called  aloud  for  immediate  abdication  of  the  ruling  sover- 
eigns, total  abolishment  of  the  standing  armies,  and  a 
republican  government  for  all  Germany,  including  Schles- 
wig  and  Ilolstein,  the  (jerman-speaking  provinces  of 
Denmark. 

Between  these   three  leading  factions  there  were  many 
intermediate    shades  of  political  creeds,    but   the   extremest 
member    of   the    extreme    republican     left     was     Frederick 
Hecker.     There    was    no   question    regarding   his    platform, 
and  there  was  no  such  word  as  "compromise"  in  his  politi- 
cal    vocabulary.        He    soon     turned     his     back     upon     the 
Convention,  and,  in  a  passionate,  eloquent  appeal,  called  his 
constituents   of  the    Lake    District   from  the  North  shore  of 
Constance,  to   arms.       And   heartily   did  they  respond  with 
such  arms   as   they  had.     With  guns  of  every  pattern  from 
the  days  of  the  arquebusc  do^\;n,  with    swords   dating  back 
to   the   crusades,    they   came;    pikes   and    lances   they   bore; 
battle-axes    and    pistols    of   ancient    make;    but   by    far  the 
greater    number    bore    the   weapon    of  old    Saturn  himself, 
scythes    fastened    straight    to     their     handles,    with     blades 
sharpened    and    whetted    to    the  keenness  of  a  razor's  edge. 
Formidable  weapons  they  were,  indeed,  for  close  range,  but 
of  very  little  avail  against  the  needle  guns  of  the  army;  and 
when,    after  a   short  parley    upon   the  field  near  Kanderen, 
the  troops  sent  a  volley  of  minie-balls  rattling  through  the 
scvthe-blades,    the   insurgents    fled    and    dispersed,  and     the 
armed  rebellion  collapsed.     This  was  in  jNIay,  1848. 

Hecker,  mortified   and  sorely  disappointed,  took  refuge 


in  America,  and  settled,  witli  a  few  of  bis  immediate 
friends,  near  Belleville,  in  Illinois. 

He  had  been  the  leader  and  parliamentary  champion  of 
the  people  in  that  first  crude  and  primitive  specimen  of 
representative  government  in  Germany,  the  Chamber  ot 
Deputies  of  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Baden,  for  a  number  of 
vears  prior  to  1S4S.  Eloquent,  sincere,  enthusiastically 
devoted  to  the  people  by  whom  he  had  been  chosen,  he 
enjoved,  in  return,  a  popularity  seldom  attained  by  mortal 
man.  Of  handsome  presence,  graceful  figure  and  impres- 
sive countenance,  frank  in  speech,  prompt  in  action,  he  was 
idolized  bv  men  and  women  alike.  The  f;\mous  Hecker 
Song  could  be  heard  upon  the  highways  and  byways  of 
Southern  Germany,  in  village  and  city,  sung  early  and  late, 
by  young  and  by  old,  with  enthusiastic  fervor,  and  encored 
to  the  echo. 

Of  sanguine  temperament  himself,  personally  brave 
and  fearless  to  a  fault,  it  is  not  surprising  that  he,  flattered 
bv  everv  possible  manifestation  of  popular  devotion,  and 
believing  firmly  in  the  righteousness  of  his  cause,  did  not 
only  count  upon  the  fullest  support  of  his  own  people,  but 
confidentlv  expected  to  win  over  to  his  side  the  very 
soldiers  who  were  sent  to  destroy  him.  How  deep  must 
have  been  his  gfrief,  how  sore  his  mortification,  at  the  sad 
failure  of  his  eftort.  Still,  when  in  the  following  Spring  the 
news  of  the  second  uprising  in  his  native  country  reached 
him  in  his  Western  home,  he  hastened,  with  all  the  enthu- 
siasm of  his  fervent  nature  rekindled,  across  the  ocean,  only 
to  learn,  upon  landing,  the  far  more  disastrous  failure  and 
the  far  more  bloody  defeat  of  the  cause  for  whose  success 
he  woidd  have  gladly  given  his  life. 

Sorrow  fid  and  almost  heart-broken,  he  returned  to  his 
American  home,  leading  for  many  years  the  quiet  life  of  a 
Western   farmer,  visited   occasionallv    bv   old  friends,  exiled 


22 


from  their  country  like  himself,  pursuing,  in  his  modest 
wav,  the  laborious  duties  of  his  new  occupation,  respected 
for  his  sterling  worth,  beloved  for  his  honesty  and  integrity, 
and  admired  by  all  who  knew  him,  for  the  grand  yet 
simple  traits  of  his  character. 

When  our  own  rebellion  shook  the  Union  from  centre 
to  circumference.  Frederick  Ilccker  hastened  to  the  defence 
of  his  adopted  country  with  a  full  regiment  of  men,  enlisted 
by  himself.  The  S^d  Illinois,  or  so-called  Hecker  regiment, 
composed  principally  of  German  soldiers,  did  credit  to  itself 
and  to  its  commander  throughout  the  war,  from  which  he 
returned  at  its  close,  with  a  severe  wound,  sorely  crij^pled 
for  life. 

The  honest  sincerity  and  enthusiastic  fervor  witli 
which  he  performed  his  duties,  and  which  frequently 
assumed  a  degree  of  energy  bordering  on  vehemence,  led 
him    occasionally  into  ludicrous  and  embarassing  situations. 

At  the  re-election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  in  the  fall  of 
1S64,  Hecker  ordered  his  regiment  out  in  full  dress,  armed 
and  equipped,  and  marched  the  men  to  the  polls  with  bay- 
onets fixed,  drums  beating  and  colors  fl3-ing;  and  the 
soldiers  voted  for  old  Abe  to  a  man.  When  Mr.  Lincoln, 
who  had  known  Hecker  well  as  a  neighbor  in  Illinois, 
heard  of  this  he  felt  greatly  annoyed,  and  sent  for  him,  and 
remonstrated  with  him  for  committing  such  a  flagrant 
breach  of  propi'iety.  Hecker  quite  seriously  and  earnestly 
contended  that  there  was  nothing  wrong  in  his  conduct:  if 
it  was  proper  to  vote  at  all,  it  could  not  be  imjoroper  to  do 
it  in  good  st3de;  and,  as  a  justifying  precedent,  he  told  Mr. 
Lincoln  that  in  the  days  of  ancient  Rome  the  legions 
always  emphasized  their  suffrage  by  striking  their  brazen 
shields  with  their  swords.  But  honest  old  Abe  did  not 
seem  to  appreciate  the  application  and  failed  to  see  the 
similarity    between    a    regiment  of  .Suckers  from   Western 


^3 

Illinois    and     a    Roman    legion;    nor    would   he    admit    the 
semhlance  between  himself  and  an  Imperial  C;?sar. 

-.  After  Hecker's  return  from  his  four  years'  service  in 
the  armv,  he  found  that  the  quiet  life  on  the  farm  did  no 
longer  agree  with  him;  his  crippled  condition  interfered 
with  his  occupation;  and  the  idle  hours  dragged  heavily. 
For  a  season  he  sought  relief  and  diversion  in  a  lecturing 
tour,  hut  met  with  indifierent  success;  the  subjects  chosen 
for  his  discourses,  although  treated  with  consummate, 
scholarly  skill,"  were  not  adapted  for  liis  audiences;  his  place 
was  the  tribune,  not  the  platform. 

Shortlv  after  the  Franco-German  war  Hecker  made  a 
visit  to  his  old  home  in  Germanv,  where  he  was  enthusias- 
tically received  by  his  former  friends  and  neighbors,  with 
whom  he  rejoiced  heartilv  over  the  final  realization  of  his 
hopes,  the  recentlv-accomplished  unification  of  Germany. 

After  his  return  to  America  he  gradually  retired  from 
active  life;  the  infirmities  of  old  age,  attended  sometimes 
AN'ith  intense  suffering,  crept  on  apace,  and  he  died  five  years 
ago  at  his  countrv  home  near  Belleville,  honored  by  all  who 
ever  knew  him.  for  his  uncompromising  honesty  and  ster- 
ling integritv. 

CARL   SCHURZ. 

The  man,  who,  on  account  of  his  superior  education,  and 
bv  virtue  of  his  uncj^uestioned  talent  and  great  natural  ability, 
could  and  should  have  become  the  foremost  representative 
German  in  America,  is  Carl  Schurz.  But  the  attainment  of 
such  distinction  could  never  have  been  his  ambition;  for 
the  success  which  has  always  attended  his  efforts  in  other 
directions,  would  certainly  have  been  a  sufficient  guarantee 
for  ample  reward  in  this,  if  he  had  seen  proper  to  make  the 
attempt.     Perhaps  he  felt,  that  by  giving  his  services  to  the 


24 

whole  country  of  his  adoption,  he  would,  at  the  same 
time,  best  promote  the  special  interests  of  his  native  country- 
men. Howcyer  that  may  have  been,  it  is  quite  certain,  that 
while  he  acquired  fame,  he  lost  popularity,  and  while  he 
gained  distinction,  he  sacrificed  the  affection  of  his  people. 
And  yet,  no  one  ever  suspected  the  honesty  of  his  motiyes 
or  questioned  the  sincerity  of  his  intentions;  Init  he  lacks 
that  straightforward,  open-hearted,  cheerful  adherence  to  a 
correct  principle  and  the  steadfast  support  of  a  righteous 
cause,  which  pardons  minor  faults  and  generously  oyerlooks 
triflinor  defects;  he  is  deficient  in  that  charity  which  is  will- 
ing  to  spare  the  doomed  citv,  if  there  can  be  found  but 
three  righteous  people  within  its  walls;  still.  I  am  inclined 
to  ascribe  to  an  ill-conceiyed  sense  of  duty  these  failings, 
which  others  haye  attributed  to  cold-hearted,  mercenary 
selfishness.  Indeed,  it  would  be  impossible  for  a  cold- 
hearted,  selfish  character  to  possess  the  self-sacrificing  devo- 
tion which  Schurz  displayed,  when,  after  having  safely 
escaped  capture,  he  bravely  risked  his  own  life  in  the 
rescue  of  his  imprisoned  friend,  Gottfried  Kinkel,  under 
difficulties  which  called  forth  the  exercise  of  the  highest 
courage  and  the  most  heroic  perseverance. 

O  J. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  revolutionary  movement 
in  1848,  Schurz  was  a  student  at  the  University  of  Bonn, 
where  his  friend,  Professor  Kinkel,  was  reading  lectures  on 
literature.  The  out-break  in  1S49  brought  both  to  the  seat 
of  war,  where  Kinkel  enlisted  in  Willich's  Corps  of  Volun- 
teers, and  fell  during  the  battle  at  Rastadt,  dangerously 
wounded,  into  the  hands  of  the  Prussians.  Schurz  served 
as  aid  to  Frederick  Anneke,  who  had  assumed  command 
of  the  artillery  in  the  fortress.  After  the  retreat  of  the 
army  from  the  field  around  Rastadt,  the  fortress  was 
invested  and  beseiged,  and  finally  capitulated.  But  during 
the  night   preceding   the   final   surrender,    Schurz   made  his 


escape  thioui2^h  sewers  and  ditches  and  crossed  the  Rhine 
in  safety.  Kinkel,  who  was  a  Prussian  sul))ect  and  soldier, 
and  who  had  l)een  captured  while  tighting  against  the  arni\- 
of  his  sovereign,  was  sentenced  to  be  shot,  and  would  have 
been  executed,  if  he  had  not  been  rescued  bv  Schurz's 
daring  effort.  Thcv  linallv  landed  in  Eng-land,  where 
Kinkel  remained;  but  Schurz  soon  came  to  America  and 
settled  at  Watertown,  in  Wisconsin.  His  general  ability, 
esiDecially  his  eloquence,  soon  brought  him  into  prominence, 
and  as  early  as  iS^6  he  carried  by  storm  such  far-famed 
masters  of  oratory  as  vSumner  and  Wendell  Philips  bv  a 
speech  wdiich  he  made  at  a  banquet  in  Boston.  In  iS6o  he 
was  a  delegate  to  the  National  Convention  which  nomi- 
nated Lincoln,  whom  he  ardently  supported  during  that 
memorable  canvass  which  resulted  in  his  election.  After 
the  inauguration,  Scliurz  was  appointed  Minister  to  Spain, 
which  office  he  soon  resigned  to  take  a  command  in  the 
armv.  His  militarv  service,  although  not  distino-uished  for 
any  particularly  remarkable  achievements,  has  been  uni- 
formly honorable  and  creditable.  It  is  admitted  bv  those 
who  knew  him  then,  and  had  opportunities  to  judge,  that 
he  was  a  brave,  devoted  soldier,  dutiful  and  sincere.  His 
military  record  is  voluminous,  and  the  range  of  his  activity 
quite  extensive.  In  August,  1S62,  he  commanded  the  3d 
Division  of  Sigel's  ist  Corps  during  Pope's  camj^aign  at 
Manassas.  In  May,  1863,  he  fought  at  Chancellorsville  at 
the  head  of  a  di\ision  in  the  iith  Corps:  in  Julv  of  the 
same  year  he  was  at  Gettysburgh,  where  he  assumed  tem- 
porary command  of  the  entire  iith  Corps,  when  Gen. 
Howard,  after  Reynold's  death,  was  placed  in  charge  of  the 
1st,  3d  and  Iith  Corps  combined;  on  the  first  da\'  of  that 
battle  Schurz  displayed  great  personal  courage  in  attempt- 
ing   to   rallv   the    routed   troops    of    his    Corps,    and    on    the 


second  dav  he    repulsed   a    fierce    attack  of  the    rebels  u})on 
Cemetery  Hill,  where  his  headquarters  were. 

Transferred  with  Gen.  Hooker  to  the  West,  he  fouudit 
before  Chattanooi^a  in  September,  and  in  November  took 
part  in  the  storming  of  Missionary  Ridge. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  he  was  sent  liv  President 
Johnson,  together  with  Generals  Grant  and  Thomas,  upon  a 
commission  of  inspection  into  the  Southern  States,  to  rejDort 
upon  ilieir  condition  and  ascertain  the  sentiments  of  the 
people.  During  his  term  in  the  United  States  Senate  he 
gave  oflence  to  the  ultra  Republicans  by  his  open  ad\ocacv 
of  a  conciliatory  policy  towards  the  South:  his  sjDeeches  on 
the  vSt.  Domingo  Treaty  and  on  the  German  Arms  question 
were  masterpieces  of  brilliant  oratorv  and  logical  argument. 
The  clear,  concise  and  comprehensive  manner  Avith  which 
he  treated  the  financial  question  during  the  inflation  heresv 
of  a  few  years  ago,  is  admitted  by  all  fair-minded  people  to 
be  convincing,  exhaustive  and  unanswerable.  As  a 
Cabinet  ISIinister  during  the  uneventful  administration  of 
President  Hayes,  he  conducted  the  affairs  of  his  Depart- 
ment on  plain  but  strict  business  principles,  and  left  the 
public  service  with  the  undisputed  reputation  of  being  an 
honest  man.  His  subsequent  career  upon  the  field  of 
political  journalism  has  been  characterized  bv  a  hvpercriti- 
cal  treatment  of  the  living  issues  of  the  dav,  and  bv  the 
assmnption  of  negative  positions  between  the  parties,  which 
satisfied  neither,  and  simply  made  it  necessarv  for  himself 
to  desert  to  the  enemy  in  order  to  punish  his  friends;  and 
having  repeated  this  operation  rather  too  often,  he  is  now 
left  alone  in  the  hands  of  his  enemies,  with  no  friends  left 
to  be  punished. 


27 


ALEXANDER    SCHIMMELPFENNIG. 

The  secret  agitations  Avhich  for  a  number  of  years 
preceded  the  final  outbreak  in  1848,  extended,  In  sonic  few 
instances,  among  the  officers  of  the  Prussian  army.  The 
principal  centers  of  this  movement  were  in  Westphalia  and 
among  the  garrisons  along  the  lower  Rhine;  the  officers  of 
the  artillery  regiments  stationed  in  Cologne,  Wesel,#Mun- 
ster  and  Minden  were  especially  affected.  Some  of  the 
officers  of  the  infantry  also  caught  the  contagion.  As  the 
movement  spread,  it  became  more  and  more  difficult  to 
maintain  secresy;  discoveries  were  made  by  spies  and 
detectives,  followed  by  peremptory  dismissals  of  some,  and 
the  forced  resignation  of  others.  The  ^t\\  Regiment  of 
Artillery  was  almost  dismembered  by  dismissals  of  its 
officers  during  the  years  of  1S46  and  1S47.  Among  them 
were  August  Willich,  Joseph  Weidemeyer  and  Frederick 
Anneke. 

Amonsf  the  infantry  officers  who  left  the  service  about 
that  time  was  Alexander  Schimmelpfennig.  He  had  been  a 
Lieutenant  in  the  39th  Regiment  of  Infantry,  stationed  in 
my  native  city  of  Coblentz,  and  when  I  met  him  in  May, 
1S49,  at  Ludwigshafen,  opposite  Mannheim,  just  after  Col. 
Blenker  had  captured  the  Bavarian  end  of  the  pontoon 
bridge  over  the  Rhine  at  that  point,  we  naturally  became 
acquainted  and  mutually  attached  to  each  other.  He  was 
then  quite  young,  short  and  lithe  of  stature,  blonde  and  fair, 
aggressive,  combative,  a  little  haughty,  but  genial,  and  quite 
dashing,  the  ^■ery  picture  and  ideal  of  the  typical  sub-lieu- 
tenant of  the  Prussian  army.  His  silky,  cream-colored 
mustache  was  curled  up  defiantly  at  both  ends,  and  he  car- 
ried his  dimpled  chin  high  up  in  the  air  like  a  boy  with  a 
chip  on  his  shoulder.     After  a  few  days  he  was  assigned  b\' 


28 


the  Provisional  (Tovernment  ot"  Trans-Rhenish  Bavaria  to 
the  command  of  some  of  the  regular  troops  who  had  gone 
t)ver  to  our  side,  and  of  the  \olunteers  who  were  flocking  in 
from  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  which  he  stationed  along 
the  Prussian  frontier,  with  headquarters  at  Zvvcibrucken. 
Upon  my  arrival  at  this  town  soon  afterwards,  I  was 
detailed  for  service  as  aid  to  the  Civil  Commissary  of  the 
District,  Doctor  Weiss,  now  a  resident  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  to 
whose  fatherly  care  and  friendh'  interest  I  am  indebted  for 
mv  existence  to-dav.  While  Schimmelpfennig  drilled  his 
recruits,  I  assisted  Doctor  Weiss  in  collecting  the  revenue 
from  the  adjacent  coal  mines  and  salt  works,  bv  a  pro- 
cess so  expeditious  and  prompt  that  it  could  properly  be 
classed  under  the  head  of  '•  direct  taxation."  This  lasted 
for  about  three  weeks,  but  one  line  morning  two  Prussian 
columns  marched  over  the  border,  under  the  command  of 
the  Crown  Prince  of  Prussia,  scattered  Schimmelpfennig's 
regulars  and  volunteers,  and  while  he  was  trying  to  check 
the  rout,  a  Prussian  rifle-ball  pierced  his  leg.  On  that  same 
morning,  before  I  went  out  on  my  last  revenue  errand,  I 
had  borrowed  a  pair  of  boots  from  Schimmelpfennig,  to 
wear  while  my  own  were  undergoing  repair.  When  I  met 
Schimmelpfennig  in  the  afternoon,  on  the  retreat  between 
Zweibrucken  and  Landau,  stretched  out  in  an  ambulance, 
he  laughingly  said,  "  Keep  the  boots,  my  boy,  I  will  not 
need  them  for  a  Avhile."  Three  or  four  months  later,  after 
we  had  passed  over  the  border  into  Switzerland,  I  met  him 
again  in  Zurich  and  returned  his  boots,  somewhat  the 
w"orse  for  wear  during  the  preceding  campaign  and   retreat. 

I  never  saw  him  again,  nor  even  heard  of  him,  until 
his  name  was  mentioned  in  the  newspapers  as  a  possible 
colonel  for  a  regiment  of  CTcrmans.  enlisted  for  the  war  in 
the  Spring  of  iS6i. 

He  served   under   Sig^el   in   the   jVrniv   of  the  Potomac 


29 

during-  the  cunipaign  of  Gun.  Po])c,  fought  bravely  at 
Groveton,  and  was  promoted  for  galhintry  at  the  second 
battle  of  I^ull  Run.  At  Chancellorsville  he  coniniandetl  the 
first  brigade  of  Schurz's  Division  of  the  iith  Corps.  At 
Gettysburgh  he  commanded  Schurz's  Division  on  the  first 
day,  and  fought  \vith  distinction  upon  Cemetery  Ridge  on 
the  second  day  of  that  battle.  In  February,  1864,  he  was 
sent  to  St.  John's  Island  in  Charleston  Harbor,  and  in  Feb- 
ruarv,  1S6:;,  he  entered  that  rebellious  city  at  the  head  of 
his  Division,  the  first  Union  soldier  to  set  foot  upon  its 
streets  since  the  firing  on  vSumter. 

His  health  had  become  seriously  impaired  during  the 
the  last  year  of  the  war,  and  he  died  from  the  efl:ects  of  his 
exposures  in  the  swamps  of  South  Carolina,  in  September, 
186^,  at  ]Miners\ille,  Pa. 

FREDERICK    KAPP. 

But  the  brightest,  most  genial  and  trulv  lovable  charac- 
ter of  all  was  Frederick  Kapp.  He  was  born  in  the  town 
of  Hamm,  in  the  Prussian  Province  of  Westphalia,  where 
his  father  was  Principal  of  the  Gymnasium,  as  the  German 
colleges  are  called.  Whoever  has  traveled  through  that 
part  of  Germany,  must  have  been  attracted  by  the  singular 
beauty  and  physical  perfection  of  its  people.  Tall  of 
stature,  muscular  and  erect  in  carriage,  with  rosy  cheeks 
and  fair  complexions,  clear  blue  eyes  and  curling  hair  of 
golden  hue,  the  very  peasants  are  models  of  statuesque 
beauty  and  grace;  and  of  this  type,  Kapp  was  a  superior 
specimen. 

Full  of  health  and  manly  strength,  his  kindly  eyes 
fairly  aglow  with  merriment  and  good  humor,  he  delighted 
to  tell  his  jolly  stories  and  deliver  his  witty  sallies  in  that 
peculiar  lisping  Westphalian  accent,  which  to  a   Southern 


30 

German  has  al\va\s  a  jx-culiar  cliarm.  His  features  were 
clear-cut,  regular,  and  expressive  of  strength  and  character, 
but  his  p'ood-naturcd  smile  secured  him  at  first  sight  the 
lasting  friendship  of  all;  nor  did  the  deep-cut  scar  on  his 
risfht  cheek,  a  relic  of  his  Heidelber<r  Lniversitv  da\'s,  mar 
in  the  least  his  handsome  face. 

Completing  at  an  early  age  his  college  studies  under 
the  immediate  tuition  of  his  excellent  father,  he  studied 
jurisprudence  first  at  Heidelberg  and  then  at  Berlin,  where 
he  also  served  his  militarv  time  as  volunteL>r  in  the  Artillery 
of  the  Guard.  He  had  just  been  assigned  to  dutv  as  a 
voung  advocate  at  the  {Superior  Court  in  his  native  town 
of  Ham m  \vb.en  the  Revolution  of  1S48  broke  out  in  Paris 
and  spread  over  Germany  with  lightning  speed.  After 
taking  an  active  part  in  the  agitation  preceding  the  elec- 
tions, he  took  up  his  residence  in  Frankfurt  at  the 
assembling  of  Parliament  in  that  citv,  where  he  remained 
as  correspondent  for  some  of  the  leading  journals  of  the 
dav,  until  the  bloodv  insurrection  in  September,  during 
which  Count  Lvchnovski  and  Baron  von  Auerswald,  reac- 
tionary members  of  Parliament,  were  killed,  when  he  found 
it  prudent  to  remo\e  to  Paris,  which  was  just  then  beginn- 
insr  to  be  agitated  bv  tlie  mo^'ement  which  resulted  in  the 
election  of  Louis  Napoleon  as  President  in  the  following 
December. 

During  the  winter  of  1S4S  and.  1849,  Kapp  remained  in 
Paris,  engaged  as  correspondent  for  various  journals  and 
contributor  to  several  German  periodicals. 

In  Mav  and  June.  1S49,  while  we  were  in  the  field 
against  the  Prussians,  in  Southern  Germany,  Kapp  came 
over  once  or  twice  to  \isit  us;  but  he  did  not  take  anv 
active  part  in  that  campaign;  and  when,  after  its  disastrous 
conclusion,  we  retreated  into  Switzerland.  I  found  him.  in 
Augfust,    at    Gene\a.    living    in    the    familv    of   the    famous 


31 

Russian  i"e\olutionist,  Alexander  Ilerzen.  uliose  literary 
works  he  prepared  for  publication,  while,  at  the  same  time, 
he  was  entrusted  \\\[h  the  education  of  Ilcrzcn's  \-oun<': 
son.  Early  in  i8:;o  he  came  to  Xew  York,  where  he  Hrst 
engaged  in  literary  work.  ])ublishing  among  other  works  a 
clear  and  concise  history  of  sla\er\'  in  the  United  States, 
which  little  volume  ctjutributed  larox-h-  t.)  the  enligfhtcn- 
ment  of  the  German  popidation  on  this  important  topic, 
which  just  then  occupied  such  a  large  share  in  the  political 
affairs  of  this  countrw  lie  became  also  editor  of  a  news- 
paper called  the  Evoiijio-  Gazette,  published  hv  a  co-opera- 
tive association  of  printers.  He  wrote  the  lives  of  Baron 
Steuben  and  of  de  Kalb.  both  of  which  v^'ere  translated 
into  English,  and  obtained  cpiite  an  extensive  circulation. 
Later,  when  he  had  been  appointed  Commissioner  of 
Emigration,  he  wrote  a  general  historv  of  emigration,  which 
contains  much  interesting  statistical  information.  Durincr 
nearly  all  this  time  he  conducted,  in  partnership  with  Zitz 
and  Froebel.  a  foreign  exchange  business.  Both  these  part- 
ners had  been  prominent  in  the  political  aff\iirs  of  Germany; 
both  had  been  members  of  Parliament;  Zitz  represented  the 
city  of  Mainz.  Froebel.  who  was  a  brother  of  the  founder 
of  the  now  well-known  Kindergarten  method  for  the  earh' 
education  of  children,  had  taken  an  active  part  in  the  re\'o- 
lutionary  movement  in  \'ienna  during  the  summer  of  1S4S. 
When  that  city  was  finally  retaken  bv  the  troops  of  the 
Emperor  of  Austria,  wh)  had  been  compelled,  at  the 
outbreak,  to  flee  for  his  life  and  hide  himself  at  Insbruck  in 
the  Tyrol,  Froebel  was  captured,  together  with  Robert 
Blum,  another  member  of  Parliament,  from  the  c\\.\  of 
Cologne,  and  l)oth  were  condemned  by  court  martial  to  be 
shot.  Blum  was  executed,  but  Froebel  was  pai'doned, 
quite  unexpectedly,  at  the  very  last  moment,  and  released 
unconditionallv. 


y- 


The  firm  of  Zitz,  Kapp  &  Froebcl  dissolved  sometime 
during  the  sixties,  and  Kapp  returned  to  his  native  country 
about  the  time  of  the  Franco-German  war,  and  was  soon 
afteru  ard  elected  to  the  Imperial  Parliament,  in  which  he 
ser\ed  with  credit  to  himself,  and  to  the  recognized  satis- 
faction of  his  constituents,  imtil  the  time  of  his  death-  about 
two  ^■ears  ago. 

CHRISTIAN  ESSELLEN. 

Among  the  early  school-felU)Ws  and  subsequent  college 
mates  and  university  chums  of  Frederick  Kapp  was 
Christian  Essellen,  whose  career  I  will  briefly  mention  by 
way  of  contrast. 

His  father  was  a  quiet,  unobtrusive,  respectable  old 
gentlemen,  an  official  of  the  Superior  Court  in  the  town  of 
Hamm,  in  Westphalia,  with  a  small  salary,  but  with  a  very 
formidable  title,  long  enough,  as  his  wicked  son  mockingly 
delighted  to  tell  us,  to  constitute  a  complete  hexameter  b}' 
itself.  Listen,  and  hear  how  it  sounds:  "  Oberlandesger- 
ichtssalariencassenrendant."  Nineteen  syllables  and  thirty- 
nine  letters  in  one  word;  fourteen  vowels  and  twenty-five 
consonants.  And  .  what  dt)  you  suppose  it  all  means  ? 
Listen,  again,  and  I  will  tell  you.  It  means  that  the  poor 
old  man  was  the  cashier  of  a  treasury  in  which  were 
deposited  the  funds  for  the  payment  of  the  salaries  of  the 
officers  of  the  Superior  Court.  Who  will  dare  tell  me  after 
this  that  my  native  tongue  is  not  concise  and  expi^essive  .'' 
Out  of  his  small  income  the  poor  old  gentleman  with  the 
extensive  title  managed  to  give  his  son  Christian  a  first-class 
education,  which,  iis:  Isted  by  a  phenomenally  bright  intel- 
lect, developed,  at  an  unusually  early  age,  a  mind  of  rarest 
brillianc}'.  Before  he  was  nineteen  he  wrote  a  tragedy, 
"  Rienzi  Cola,*'  the  superior  merit   of  which   was  acknowl- 


33 

edged  at  the  time  b\  critical  judges  in  most  flattering  terms. 
But  with  the  actjuisition  of  knowledge  he  absorbed  the 
poison  of  e\il.  He  left  tlie  university  an  intellectual  giant, 
but  at  the  same  time  a  moral  wreck.  He  became  a  slave  to 
ever\-  vice:  he  made  no  attempt  to  resist  temptation,  l)ut 
appeared  to  take  a  hendish  delight  in  oflending  every  \irtue 
and  defvin<r  e\  erv  law  .  He  \\as  the  ver\-  incarnation  of  a 
reckless  rebel  ajjaiust  ever\  rule  of  decencv  and  the 
common  code  of  propriety  :  but  through  all  his  amazing 
wickedness  shone  the  luilliant  light  of  his  genius.  Socially 
he  could  be  the  most  delightful  companion,  bright,  witty 
and  spaikling.  lait  in  a  moment  he  would  turn  into  an 
ortensi\  e.  unmitigated  nuisance. 

The  vear  of  his  military  service  in  Jjcrlin  he  spent 
chieilv  under  arrest,  and  upon  his  discharge  from  the  army 
he  plunged  at  once  into  the  turbulent  political  agitation 
which  just  then  an  as  at  its  fever  height.  In  times  like 
those,  the  extremest  leader  alwa\  s  commands  the  largest 
followinff.  Reckless  in  manner,  bold  and  defiant  in  utter- 
ance.  attracti\  e  withal  in  his  youthful  daring,  he  was  the 
idol  of  the  rabble  and  the  favorite  of  the  masses.  He  would 
himself  <ro  as  far  as  an\-  one  dared  to  follow.  The  Rebel- 
lion  of  1S49  found  him,  of  course,  at  the  center  t)t  its 
ofreatest  commoticjn.  He  had  studied  law  at  the  Uni\ersi- 
ties  of  Berlin  and  Heidelberg,  and  on  the  strength  of  this 
accomplishment,  in  mockery  of  the  blind-folded  goddess,  he 
ser\ed  in  the  capacit\'  of  Judge  Advocate  t(^  the  Pro\  isional 
Government  at  Carlsruhe,  during  the  brief  period  of  its 
existence. 

Dri\  en  \vith  the  rest  o\  er  the  borders  into  Switzerland, 
left  \vith(nit  occupation  or  employment,  he  passed  through 
a  course  of  wildest  dissipations,  which  only  ceased  with  his 
physical  exhaustion.  Reduced  to  a  mere  shadow  of  his 
former  self,  with  trembling  nerves   and   twitching  muscles, 


34 

lie  crossed  the  Channel  into  En<:^land,  and,  after  a  short 
residence  there,  durinj^^  wliich  he  seemed  to  have  partly 
recovered  liimself,  he  came  to  this  country  in  1852  or  18^3. 
Here  he  made  his  last  honest  effort  at  reformation,  and  for  a 
time  there  ^vas  some  hope  of  success.  During^  this  period 
lie  became  associated,  in  Cleveland,  Avith  vour  former 
toNvnsman,  J.  H.  Klippart,  whom,  no  doubt,  man\'  of  you 
will  remember  as  the  able  and  efHcient  Secretary  of  the 
vState  Board  of  A<»-riculture,  whose  many  \aluable  contribii- 
tlons  to  the  literature  of  his  department  ha\  e  j^reatlv 
jH'omoted  the  material  development  of  the  agricultural 
interests  of  this  state. 

To<i^ether,  Essellen  and  Klij^part  published,  somewhere 
in  185:^  or  1856,  a  periodical  under  the  name  of  America  11 
Liberal.     It  was  ably  edited,  but  its  career  was  short. 

After  the  cessation  of  this  periodical,  Essellen  returned 
to  the  East  to  relapse  into  dissipation  and  to  die.  His 
last  days  were  spent  in  an  asylum  for  inebriates  upon 
BlackwelFs  Island;  and  after  he  had  breathed  his  last,  and 
was  resting  in  his  coilin,  while  some  of  his  old  friends  were 
standing  mournfully  by  his  side,  another  inmate  of  the  same 
institution,  likewise  a  participant  in  the  rebellion  and  now 
an  exile,  Count  Fenner  von  Fenneberg,  an  Austrian  noble- 
man, and  once  a  distinguished  oilicer  in  the  German  army, 
while  laboring  under  a  fit  of  insanity,  burst  into  the  room  of 
the  dead,  and  insisted  upon  delivering  a  funeral  oration  o\er 
the  bod\'  of  his  de})arte(l  friend. 

^^'ith  this  ghastly  scene  closed  the  history  of  Christiati 
Essellen's  wretched  life. 

FRANZ    SKjEL 

was  one  of  the  few  officers  of  the  regular  army  of  the 
Duchy  of  Baden,  who  did  not  follow  their  Grand  Duke  into 


35 


exile  at  the  outbreak  in  1849,  ^'^''^  tendered  their  services 
to  the  re\ohitionary  <j^o\  ernnient.  ^igel  \vas  ofleretl  the 
eoniinandership  of  all  the  forces,  but  he  modestly  declined 
the  acceptance  of  such  responsibility,  feeling,  no  doubt,  a 
want  of  confidence  in  liis  ability,  owing  to  his  lack  of 
experience.  Iiut  when  the  last  engagement  had  been 
fought,  and  the  two  Polish  commanders,  Generals  Sznyda 
and  ^Iierosla\\ski.  had  failed  to  realize  the  success 
\\hich  had  been  expected  imder  their  leadership,  the 
soldiers  clamored  for  Sigel,  \\ho  thereupon  assinned  com- 
mand of  the  armv  and  conducted  the  final  retreat  into 
Switzerland.  During  his  exile  in  Gene\a  and  Zurich.'  vSigel 
led  a  \  ei"\  retireil  life,  keeping  aloof  from  his  comrades  and 
a\()iding  all  social  intercourse.  Little  was  known  (;f 
him  then.  and.  aside  from  his  nnlitary  record,  little  is 
known  of  him  now.  If  he  is  a  great  man,  he  has  failed  to 
show  it,  although  his  opportunities  have  been  ample.  As  a 
soldier  he  displayed  skill  and  achieved  some  success  while 
in  subordinate  commands,  but  \\  hen  placed  in  positions  of 
greater  responsibilitv  he  did  not  succeed  in  taking  the 
advantage  of  his  oppur  tunities  which  a  more  ambitious  man 
would  hd\c  secured  In-  promptness  of  action  and  decision  of 
character.  Where\  er  he  displayed  any  ability  it  ^\•as  in 
secondary  afiairs  and  minor  details.  His  famous  retreat 
from  Carthage  in  Missouri,  in  Jul}',  1861.  before  Go\'ernor 
Jackson's  superior  forces,  was  simplv  a  skillfully-executed 
artillerx'  maneu\  er,  and  this  was  the  arm  of  the  ser\ice  in 
which  vSigel  had  been  especially  trained.  At  Wilson's  Creek 
and  Pea  Ridge  his  professional  acquirements  again  came  in 
good  plav  on  a  limited  scale,  and  brought  his  name  into 
such  prominence,  that,  when  the  Army  of  Virginia  was 
organized  in  June.  1S62,  under  Pope,  Sigel  was  assigned  to 
the  command  of  the  ist  Coi'ps,  after  Fremont,  who  was 
unwilling   to   serve    under    Pope,    had   resigned.     Between 


36 


Pope  and  Siji^cl  rrc([ucnt  misunderstandings  arose  regarding 
the  meaning  of  orders  on  the  one  side,  and  tlieir  interpreta- 
tion and  execution  on  the  other,  wlTicli  led  to  ill-natured 
rejMoaches  on  the  part  of  Pope,  and  surly  responses  and 
peevish  action  on  the  part  of  Sigel.  These  quarrels  con- 
tinued through  the  operations  in  the  Shenandoah  Vallev, 
and  culminated  in  criminating  charges  against  Sigel  after 
the  second  liattle  of  Bull  Run.  But  this  hattle  also  ended 
Pope's  career,  who  was  relieved  hv  McClellan  just  prior 
to  the  Antietam  campaign,  during  which  .Sigel  commanded 
the  iith  Corps  of  the  re-organized  army.  When  Hooker 
succeeded  McClellan  he  relieved  Sigel  from  command  just 
as  the  army  started  for  Chancellorsville,  and,  as  there 
appeared  to  l)e  no  special  reason  for  this  seeming  degrada- 
tion, it  may  be  true  that  the  had  behavior  of  the  soldiers  of 
the  nth  Corps  in  that  engagement,  at  least  partly,  was  due 
to  their  demoralization  on  account  of  the  ill-treatment  of 
their  commander. 

With  this  retirement  from  command  ended  Sigel's 
actix  e  share  in  the  war.  Since  that  time  he  has  lived  in 
comparative  seclusion  in  New  York.  Once  or  twice  he  has 
taken  part  in  political  campaigns,  speaking  to  the  Germans. 
and  defendinsf,  if  1  remember  rijjht,  the  Democratic  side  of 
the  issue.  He  has  held  various  offices  in  the  cit\  and  state, 
and  is  now  serving  the  (jovernment  of  the  United  States  as 
Pension  Agent  ft)r  the  di'  trict  of  Xcw  Vork  Citv.  He  is 
known,  and  will  be  remembered,  for  the  prominent 
positions  he  occupied  rather  than  for  the  deeds  he  accom- 
plished, 

AUGUST   WILLICH. 

Among   the    Prussian    officers    who   ^vere    dismissed    in 
iS_|7,   on  account    of  their   participation   in    political   move- 


37 

ments,  was  Captain  August  Willicli.  of  the  ytli  Regiment 
of  Artillery.  He  was  of  noble  l)irtli,  and  the  descendant  of 
a  loner  line  of  soldiers  distinguished  for  braverv  in  the 
military  service  of  their  country,  and  he  was,  every  inch  ot 
him,  a  magnificent  soldier  himself.  In  the  Spring  of  184S 
he  joined  the  forces  under  Hecker  in  Baden,  and,  after  a 
short  exile  in  France,  he  returned  in  September  with 
Gustavc  Struve  for  a  second  attempt,  and  after  the  failure 
of  that  invasion,  he  retired  with  a  number  of  his  men  to  the 
town  of  Besancon,  on  the  Western  slope  of  the  Jura 
Mountains,  which  here  form  the  boundary  between 
Switzerland  and  France.  Here  he  organized  his  fellow 
exiles  into  a  military  company,  and  drilled  them  as  only  he 
could  drill.  When  the  general  uprising  took  place  in  May, 
1S49,  Willich  reported  promptly  for  duty  with  his  body  of 
refugees,  veterans  in  rebellion,  and  took  a  prominent  part  in 
the  two  days'  engagenient  at  Rastadt.  After  the  retreat  of 
the  armv  into  Switzerland,  Willich  again  retired  to  Besan- 
con, but  was  soon  compelled  by  the  French  Government  to 
leave:  whereupon  he  embarked  for  England  some  time  in 
iS:;o,  and  after  a  year  or  two  came  to  America,  where  he 
found  employment  in  one  of  the  engineering  parties  of  the 
Coast  Survey.  Subsequently  he  came  to  Cincinnati,  and 
ensraofed  in  journalism.  At  the  outbreak  of  our  own  Civil 
War,  Willich  enlisted  at  once  in  Robert  McCook's  9th 
Ohio  Regiment,  which  was  largely  composed  of  soldiers 
trained  in  the  armies  of  German}-.  lie  was  appointed 
Adjutant,  and  when  that  regiment  left  Camp  Dennison  for 
the  seat  of  war  in  West  Virginia,  there  was  not  its  equal, 
among  the  volunteer  forces  in  the  scr\  ice,  for  general 
efficiency.  While  engaged  in  the  West  Virginia  campaign, 
Willich  attracted  the  '  attention  of  Governor  Morton,  of 
Indiana,  who  oftered  him  the  Colonelcy  of  the  32d  Regi- 
ment of  Infantry  from  that  State,  which  he  accepted,  and  in 


3S 

command  of  whicli  he  remained  imtil  promoted  to  a  higlier 
lank. 

It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say,  that,  as  a  soldier,  Willich 
was  perfection  itself,  and  it  is  no  disparagement,  for  it  is  but 
the  simple  truth,  to  add,  t-liat  he  was  absolutely  unfit  for 
anything  else.  It  was  inspiring  to  see  him  draw  his  sword, 
and  it  \vas  jDositively  humiliating  to  see  his  awkward 
attempts  at  the  performance  of  the  simplest  duties  of 
ordinary  life.  He  fought  at  Perryville  imder  Alexander 
McCook;  at  Str>ne  River  he  was  captured,  in  consequence 
of  his  anxiety  to  report  personally  to  his  chief  the  move- 
ments of  some  rebel  troops  on  his  flank,  which  led  him  to 
ride  to  headquarters  alone,  and  running  straight  into  the 
enem\'s  lines  on  his  return.  At  Mumfordville,  the  superior 
training  of  his  regiment  enabled  it  to  resist,  though  scat- 
tered out  in  skirmish  line,  a  sudden  and  very  fierce  attack 
of  a  regiment  of  Texas  Rangers,  killing  its  Colonel  and 
repulsing  the  troopers  with  heavy  loss.  This  little  fight  is 
described  as  one  of  the  most  brilliant  achievements  of  the 
war.  A  little  yellow,  white-maned  Texas  mustang,  which 
was  captured  bv  Willich  on  that  occasion,  was  sent  by  the 
captor  to  the  young  son  of  Judge  Stallo,  at  Mount  Auburn, 
Avliere  it  became  the  pet  of  the  neighborhood. 

Willich  arrived  at  Shiloh  in  command  of  the  32d 
Indiana  early  on  Monday  morning,  and  at  once  made  a  gal- 
lant attack  on  the  enemy,  but  met  with  stubborn  resistance. 
Finding  that  imder  the  heavy  fire  some  of  his  men  began  to 
lose  self-control,  he  stepped  in  front,  and  for  fully  ten 
minutes  drilled  them  in  the  manual  of  arms,  as  he  said,  to 
cool  them  off,  and  make  them  steady,  and  then  continued 
the  fight. 

It  is  sufficient  to  say,  tliat  at  Chickamauga  he  was  with 
Thomas.  In  one  of  the  engagements  near  Atlanta  he 
received  a  severe  wound  in  his  upper  right  arm.   which   dis- 


39 

abled  liim  for  active  service,  and,  upon  his  partial  recovery, 
he  was  placed  in  command  of  the  post  of  Cincinnati,  where 
he  remained  imtil  the  close  of  the  war. 

The  old  saying,  that  Republics  are  ungrateful,  is,  like 
many  other  old  sayings,  only  partly  true;  but  the  manner  in 
which  thc\'  manifest  their  gratitude  leaves  it  sometimes 
questionable  whether  the  reward  is  not  a  punishment. 
When  a  good  man  has  served  his  country  well  in  one 
capacity,  he  is  generally  made  to  serve  it  in  another  for 
which  he  is  whollv  unfit.  The  election  of  General  Willich 
as  Auditor  of  Hamilton  County  is  a  flagrant  example  of 
this  kind,  intensified  by  a  repetition.  It  was  the  intention 
to  give  the  brave  old  soldier  an  opportunity  to  save,  out  of 
the  large  income  of  his  office,  enough  to  make  himself 
comfortable  for  the  rest  of  his  days;  Init  he  bad  no  more 
idea  of  savins:  monev  for  himself  than  be  bad  of  auditiny- 
the  accounts  of  his  office.  He  became  the  easy  victim  of 
insinuating  imposters,  and  the  favorite  subject  of  visionarv 
cranks;  and  though  be  paid  dearly  for  bis  experiences,  be 
did  not  profit  bv  their  lessons.  To  save  him  at  last  from 
actual  want  in  his  old  age,  his  friends  secured,  during  the 
last  vear  of  bis  second  term,  a  part  of  bis  income,  and 
invested  it  in  such  a  manner  that  he  could  not  dispose  of  it, 
except  in  small  amounts  gradually  drawn  out.  Depending 
upon  these  allowances  for  his  subsistence,  and  being  of 
frugal  habits,  be  managed  to  live  abroad  for  several  years, 
attending  lectures  on  philosophy  at  the  Uni\ersity  in  tlie 
same  citv  of  Berlin  where,  nearly  fifty  years  before,  he  had 
studied  the  science  of  war  as  a  youthful  cadet.  Upon  his 
return  to  this  countrv  he  settled  in  the  quiet  little  village  oi' 
Saint  Marvs,  in  Auglaize  County,  near  some  old  friends  of 
his  soldier  days,  and  j^^n'sued,  with  the  enthusiasm  of  a 
school-bov.   the   studies  he   bad   commenced   at   the  Berlin 


40 

University,  spenclliifj  liis  leisure  in  frolicsome  plays  with  the 
children  of  the  a  illagc,  whose  dearest  friend  he  was. 

One  nio-ht  he  retired  in  good  health  and  spirits,  and  the 
next  morning  he  was  missed  hy  the  children  at  the  play- 
ground. He  had  died  during  the  night,  apparently  without 
a  struggle. 

FREDERICK   ANXEKE. 

Among  the  ofHcers  of  the  Wcstphalian  x\rtillerv  Regi- 
ment who  left  the  service  prior  to  the  outhreak  in  184S,  was 
Frederick  Anneke.  He  was  a  First  Lieutenant  at  the  time 
of  his  discharge.  He  was  quiet,  studious,  reticent,  almost 
morose,  hut  positive  in  his  convictions  and  determined  in 
his  actions.  He  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  movements  of 
the  Spring  of  1S4S  in  ^Munster  and  in  Cologne,  where  for  a 
time  he  \vas  imprisoned,  with  others,  for  making  inflamma- 
tory speeches  and  for  issuing  incendiary  puhlications.  In 
May,  1849,  he  was  made  Chief  of  Artillerv  of  the  revolu- 
lutionary  armv  in  Baden,  and  as  such  took  command  of  the 
artillerv  in  the  Fortress  of  Rastadt;  hut,  knowing  well  that 
in  case  of  his  capture  at  the  eventual  surrender  he  would 
certainly  he  shot,  he  made  his  escape  from  the  Fortress  just 
before  its  investment,  and  retired  with  the  army  into 
Switzerland.  After  a  short  residence  in  England,  he  came 
to  the  United  States,  and  settled  in  Milwaukee.  If  he  took 
any  part  in  our  own  war  of  Rebellion,  it  could  not  ha\e 
been  a  very  conspicuous  one,  but  I  think  he  was  absent  in 
Europe  at  that  time  on  account  of  ill  health.  He  died  in 
Chicago  about  ten  vears  ago.  His  wife,  Mathilda  Francisca 
Anneke,  survived  him  until  two  vears  ago.  She  was  a 
woman  of  distinguished  character  and  rare  accomplish- 
ments. In  her  youth  she  was  quite  famous  for  her  beauty 
and   dignified   grace:   she   had  been   married  at  an  earlv  age 


to  a  Wcstphalian  nol)lcinan  of  dissipated  habits  and  l^rutal 
instincts,  ^vho  ill-treated  her  until  she  was  compelled  to 
leave  him  and  obtain  a  divorce.  vShe  married  Anneke  a 
short  time  after  his  discharge  from  the  armw  Prior  to  this 
she  had  written  several  books  of  local  historv,  and  also  some 
works  of  fiction.  She  acccompanied  her  husband  during 
the  entire  campaign  of  1S49,  '^"'^^'  shared  his  subsequent 
exile. 

In  ^Milwaukee  she  established  a  school  for  the  educa- 
tion of  young  ladies,  which  appears  to  have  been  well 
conducted,  and  largely  patronized  by  the  best  pegple  of  the 
citv  and  neighborhood.  Her  voice  was  verv  sweet  and 
melodious  ;  her  lang-ua"-e  alwavs  earnest,  difrnified  and 
impressive;  the  subjects  of  her  discourse  were  alwavs 
chosen  with  taste,  tact  and  sound  judgment,  while  her  man- 
ners were  graceful  and  pleasing. 

The  life  work  of  such  a  woman  cannot  be  wasted,  and 
we  can  safely  take  it  for  granted  that  the  beneficial  influ- 
ence of  her  teachings  and  example  will  be  felt,  and 
gratefully  appreciated,  b}-  her  pupils  and  their  descendants, 
for  generations  ^■et  to  conie. 

CARL  IIEINZEX 

was  a  distinguished  journalist  and  an  accomplished  writer 
of  wonderful  force  and  influence;  concise  and  clear  in  his 
statements,  logical  and  convincing  in  his  arguments,  bitter 
and  fierce  in  his  denunciations,  and  relentless  in  his  perse- 
cution; a  severe,  uncompromising  critic;  a  man  to  be 
admired,  but  feared  rather  than   loved. 

His  prolific  pen  had  kept  the  German  censors  busy  for 
many  years  prior  to  the  Re\-olution.  Most  of  his  publica- 
tion were  confiscated,  on  general  'principles,  as  soon  as  they 


4: 


left  the  press,  unless  thev  had  already  been  seized  bv  the 
police  in  the  composing  room. 

Ph3\sicallv,  he  was  a  man  of  gigantic  frame,  six  feet  or 
more  in  height,  able-bodied  and  strong;  but  there  was  no 
fight  in  him.  He  seemed  to  feel  that  his  pen  was  mightier 
than  his  sword,  and  he  preferred  to  attack  the  enemy  at 
long  range  with  tierce  pronunciamentos  and  soul-stirring 
harangues;  but  ne\er  a  drop  of  blood  would  he  spill — 
neither  the  enemy's  nor  his  own;  and  \yhile  the  rest  of  us 
fought  and  then  ran  away  so  as  to  liye  and  fight  some  other 
day,  Heinzen,  who  had  neyer  fought  at  all,  ran  away  with 
the  others,  but  eyidcntly  more  with  a  yiew  of  saying  his  life 
for  the  time  being  than  with  the  intention  of  renewing  the 
fight  at  some  future  day. 

During  our  refuge  in  Geneya,  we  li\  ed  close  together 
at  (irand  Pre,  on  the  hedge-lined  road  to  Petit-Sacconnex, 
near  the  country-seat  of  Albert  Galere,  whose  hospitable 
house  was  made  the  cheerful  home  for  many  a  wanderer 
during  the  dreary  winter  of  1849.  At  a  little  cabaret, 
where  the  red  wine  from  Tessin  and  the  purple-tinted 
melange  from  Canton  de  Vaux  were  sold  so  cheap  that 
eyen  we,  the  poyerty-stricken  memliers  of  the  so-called 
"Brimstone  Club,"'  could  afiord  to  drink  them  on  credit, 
Ilcinzen  was  our  frequent  guest. 

He  reached  New  York,  after  a  short  stay  in  England, 
during  the  \ear  1S51.  and  after  publishing  a  newspaper  in 
that  cit\-  for  a  fe\y  \ears,  he  moycd  to  B.oston,  where 
he  continued  its  publication  with  considerable  success  imtil 
the  time  of  his  death,  about  eight  \ears  ago. 

OSWALD   OTTENDORFER. 

When  Oswald  Ottendorfer  came  to  Kaiserslautern  in 
'Max.  1849,  to  oft^cr  his  seryices  to   the  Proyisional   Goycrn- 


43 

ment,  he  Avore  the  uniform  of  the  Academic  Lc^^ion  of  tlic 
l"ni\evsit\-  of  Vienna,  where  he  had  been  a  student,  and 
Avhcre  he  had  taken  part  in  the  insurrection  of  the  previous 
year,  and  in  the  more  recent  movement  in  concert  with 
Kossuth's  operations  in  Hunj^ary.  He  served  during  the 
ensuing  campaign  in  Southern  Germany  as  vohinteer,  and 
eventuallv  became,  hke  all  the  rest,  an  exile  in  Switzerland, 
whence  he  emigrated  to  America  some  time  in  1850.  We 
had  known  each  other  in  Germanv,  and  when  I  met  him. 
shortlv  after  his  arrival  in  Xew  York,  during  one  of  mv 
Sunday  vacations  from  that  Long  Island  cabbage  farm, 
Ottendorfer  was  peddling,  in  utter  want  and  sheer  despera- 
tion, baskets  of  gorgeously-labeled  beverages  of  doubtful 
composition  among  houses  of  questionable  resort.  When 
next  I  saw  him,  during  the  Centennial  ^■ear.  his  liveried 
coachman  drove  us  from  his  magnificent  office  in  Printing 
House  Square  to  his  country-seat  opposite  the  Palisades  at 
Manhattanville,  overlooking  the  Hudson,  where  we  were, 
met  by  his  noble  wife,  whose  munificent  charitable  bequests 
will  cause  her  name  to  be  forever  remembered  in  aflection- 
atc  gratitude.  We  fought  our  vouthful  l:)attles  o^•cr  while 
enjoying  a  delightful  dinner,  and  when  I  congratulated  him 
upon  his  remarkable  success,  I  felt  that  fortune  could  never 
have  smiled  upon  a  worthier  and  more  deserving  man.  His 
newspaper,  the  N'e-ju  l^o?'k  Staatszeitung^  has  an  immense 
circulation,  and  is  read  by  the  German  people  without  dis- 
tinction of  party;  its  independent  spirit,  and  the  great  ability 
with  which  it  is  edited,  form  a  pleasing  contrast  with  the 
prevailing  journalism  of  the  day,  while  the  high  personal 
character  of  its  publisher,  and  his  acknowledged  sterling 
integrity,  are  <i  source  of  pride  to  his  immediate  country- 
men; and  his  genial,  tender-hearted  kindness  is  the  pleasure 
and   dclisfht  of  his  numberless  friends. 


44 


P,LENKER. 

Blcnkcr  appears  to  have  been  a  soldier  of  fortune  from 
earliest  youth.  AVhcn  a  mere  boy  he  served  as  a  volunteer 
in  Greece,  duriuf^-  her  heroic  struggle  of  deliverance  from 
the  ^■oke  of  the  Turks.  During  the  summer  of  1848  he 
drilled  a  militia  company  in  the  town  of  Worms,  famous  for 
its  cathedral  and  for  that  memoralile  trial  in  which  Luther 
told  his  judges,  ''if  this  is  the  work  of  men,  it  will  crumble 
to  pieces  of  its  own  accord,  but  if  it  is  the  work  of  God,  it  is 
vain  for  vou  to  oppose  it."  And  when,  in  May,  1849,  the 
news  reached  Blcnker  of  the  flight  of  the  Grand  Duke  of 
Baden,  he  promptly  marched  his  militia  company  up  the 
river  to  Ludwigrshafen  and  seized  the  little  gai"rison  at 
the  Bavarian  end  of  the  bridge,  which  crosses  the  Rhine  at 
Mannheim.  He  was  a  dashing  fellow,  sitting  well  in  the 
.saddle,  too  proud  to  be  anything  but  brave,  lie  made  a 
bold  attempt  on  one  bright  vSunday  morning  to  .storm  the 
I'orlress  of  Landau,  bu.t  after  receiving  a  few  rounds  of 
grape  shot  from  the  ramparts  of  the  fort,  he  reconsidered 
his  plan  and  concluded  to  let  I^andau  alone.  He  com- 
manded, as  well  as  anv  one  could  command  such  a  body,  a 
large  force  of  heterogeneous  volunteers,  and  his  energetic, 
pale-faced  little  wife  rode  by  his  side  through  all  that  cam- 
paign, from  Zweibruckcn,  on  the  line  between  France  and 
Bavaria,  through  the  Palatinate,  across  the  Rhine,  down  to 
Mannheim,  back  to  Rastadt  and  over  the  shady  hills  of 
the  l^)lack  Forest,  past  Freiburg,  once  more  across  the 
Rliine  into  Switzerland. 

[list  where  Blenker  spent  the  short  interval  between 
the  close  of  the  war  of  1849  and  his  arri\al  in  Xew  York  in 
1 85 1,  I  do  not  now  recollect,   but   well   do   I   remember  the 


dairv  farm  which  he   culti\ated   in   Orange   Countv,   on   the 


45 

Hudson,  where  iVcc  l)uttcriiiilk  and  aromatic  cheese  were 
dispensed  in  most  <(ener(>us  measure  to  liis  \  isitinj^ 
friends. 

He  evidently  \\  as  on  hand  again  prom})tl\-  in  1861,  for 
we  read  of  his  coverinsr  the  retreat  from  Hull  Run  towards 
Washington.  Earlv  in  1S62  he  connnanded  a  di\  ision  din- 
ing the  operations  of  the  army  in  the  vShcnandoah  \'alley, 
hilt  during  the  latter  part  of  the  war  his  health  failed,  and 
he  died  liefore  its  final  C(^)nclusi((n. 

JOSEPH  WEYDEMEYER 

was  one  (jt  those  ohiujxious  Prussian  artiller\'  officers  \\diose 
resignations  were  demanded  somewhere  in  1847.  In  184S 
he  was  employed  on  the  Cologne-Minden  Railroad  as  engi- 
neer, and  it  was  under  his  tuition  that  I  received  the  iirst 
pi'actical  instructions  of  my  profession.  After  the  defeat  of 
the  revolutionaiT  movements  in  1849,  he  came  to  New 
York,  where  he  engaged  in  journalistic  enterprises,  settled 
subsequently  in  Milwaukee,  and  returned  to  New  York  in 
i860,  under  an  appointment  as  engineer  of  the  Central  Park 
Commission.  In  1861  he  enlisted  under  Fremont,  in  St. 
Louis,  where  at  first  he  took  charge  of  the  erection  of  the 
fortifications  in  that  A'icinitv,  and  afterwards  received  a 
lieutenant  coloners  commission  in  the  2d  Regiment  of 
Missouri  Artiller}',  in  ^vhich  capacity  he  spent  a  long  time 
in  Western  Missouri  figrhtin"-  the  jjuerrillas  and  hush- 
whackers.  Towards  the  close  of  the  war  he  commanded 
the  41st  Regiment  of  Missouri  Infantrv,  and  was  also  Com- 
mander of  the  post  of  St.  Louis. 

In  1 886  he  was  elected  Auditor  of  .St.  Louis  County, 
but  he  had  l)arelv  entered  upon  his  duties  when  he  died  of 
cholera,  in  the  prime  of  his  life.  His  wife,  who  died  a  few 
years  later  in  Pittsburirh,  was  a  sister  of  Dr.  Otto  Luenia;,  a 


46 

(listinguisliL'd  jcnirnalist,  and  publisher  of  the  A^czv  German 
Gazette,  ihc  Icadhit^  organ  of  the  Democratic  side  of  Parlia- 
ment in  Frankfurt  (hn'ing  the  exciting  (hiys  of  184S  and 
1849.  I'^vo  other  1)rothers,  who  had  taken  pari  in  the 
earher  movement  of  1830,  and  wlio  liad  taken  refuge  in 
Switzerland,  were  professors  in  the  University  of  Zurich  at 
the  time  1  enjoyed  the  hosj^italit}'  of  that  delightful  city. 

LOREXZ   BREXTAXO, 

who  occupied,  during  the  insurrection  of  1849,  the  ))osition 
of  President  of  the  Pro\isional  (jovernment.  and  \vho  still 
li\es  in  Chicauo.  was  horn  at  Mannheim  in  the  Grand 
Duchy  of  Baden,  in  1813.  He  received  a  classical  educa- 
tion, studied  jurisprudence  at  Ileidelherg  and  Freiburg, 
and  after  graduating  practiced  law  before  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  State.  He  first  distinguished  himself  as  lead- 
ing counsel  for  the  defence  in  the  celebrated  state  trial 
agfainst  Gustave  von  Struve,  for  high  treason.  After  attain- 
int>-  the  lesfal  age  he  was  elected  to  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies,  where  he  soon  became  the  recognized  leader  of 
the  opposition  party. 

In  1848  he  was  elected  to  Parliament,  and  after  the 
outbreak  in  1849  he  became  President  of  the  Re\-olutionary 
Gov(^rnment,  for  \vhich  he  was  condemned  in  contumaciam 
to  imprisonment  for  life.  After  his  emigration  to  this 
countrv  he  first  settled  upon  a  farm  in  Kalamazoo  County, 
Michigan;  in  i8::;9  he  remo\ed  to  Chicago  and  commenced 
the  practice  of  law ;  in  1862  he  served  as  a  member  of  the 
Illinois  Legislature,  and  after  the  expiration  of  his  term  he 
l)ecamc  a  member  of  the  Chicago  Board  of  Education. 

He -was  a  delegate,  in  1S68,  to  the  Nationxil  Republi- 
can Convention  which  nominated  Grant  and  Colfax,  and 
during  all  this  time  he  was  also  editor-in-chief  and  principal 


47 

proprietor  of  the  I/I i /wis  Staatszcitun^'.  In  1869  he  took 
advantage  of  the  general  amnest}-  and  paid  a  visit  to  his 
native  countrv,  from  Avhich  lie  returned  to  recover  \\hat 
was  left  of  his  propert\  bv  the  great  Chicago  tire. 

From  1872  to  1876  he  ser\ed  as  Liiited  States  Consul 
at  Dresden,  and  afterwards  was  elected  to  the  ^j^th  C(jn- 
gress  as  a  member  from  the  Chicago  Citv  District. 

I  happened  to  be  present  in  the  ^villter  of  184S  at  a 
very  amusing  and  somewhat  exciting  scene,  in  which 
Brentano  played  a  conspicuous  part.  In  the  course  of  a 
speech,  which  he  deli\ered  on  this  occasion  in  Parliament. 
he  alluded  in  rather  disrespectful  language  to  the  Crcnvn 
Prince  of  Prussia,  (the  ])resent  Emperor. )  who  had  just 
then  returned  from  his  short  exile  in  England,  ^\•hen  a 
young  aristocratic  member,  a  nobleman  of  high  rank, 
took  exceptions  to  Brentanos  remarks,  and  in  a  greatly 
excited  manner  challenged  him  right  there  and  then  for 
daring  to  insult  the  brother  of  his  King.  Brentano  looked 
calmly  at  his  assailant,  and  said  in  a  quiet  and  dignified 
tone,  "Well,  if  this  little  case  betw  een  the  Prince  and  myself 
is  to  be  settled  by  prox\-,  I  will  send  my  coachman  to  fight 
vou",    what  time  would  it  suit  vou  to  meet  him  :" 

If  the  bold  young  aristocrat  had  been  actual!}  kicked 
by  Brentanos  coachman,  he  could  not  have  been  more 
profoundly  humiliated. 

MAX    WEBER. 

who  had  been  a  Lieutenant  in  the  Army  of  Baden,  and  his 
comrade  Schwarz,  \vho  parted  from  his  father,  when  the 
latter  followed  the  Grand  Duke  into  exile,  both  performed 
gallant  services  in  the  Union  army  during  the  War  of  the 
Rebellion.  Weber  commanded  a  brigade  in  General 
Sedgwick's  division   of  Sumner's  zd   Corps   at  the   battles 


48 


of  Frcdcricksburi^li  and  Antictain,  and  tlic  lu'avcrv  of 
J-^clnx  arz's  l)attcry  of  artillery  during-  CJrant's  operations 
aroinul  Fort  Donaldson  and  A'icksburg  is  honoral)l\'  men- 
tioned in  the  oHicial  reports  of  that  eampaign. 

iJesides  these  few,  whose  li\es  1  ha\  e  brieH}'  sketched, 
there  have  been  and  still  are  hundreds  of  others,  scattered 
throughout  all  parts  of  this  Western  A\'orld,  pursuing  in 
modest  \va\s  their  humble  \  ocations,  \et  adding,  to  the  best 
of  their  ability,  their  honest  shares  to  its  material  develop- 
ment and  intellectual  impro\ement. 

A  few  }ears  more,  and  the  last  exile  of  "49  \\  ill  have 
found  refuge  in  that  great  asylum  where  extradition  laws 
are  unknown,  and  where,  as  I  hope,  he  will  not  be  com- 
pelled to  serve  a  probationary  term  prior  to  his  full 
admission  to  citizenship.  But  his  children  and  his  chil- 
dren's children  will  live  on,  assimilated,  absorbed  and 
Americanized;  unmindful  of  their  origin  and  indiflerent  to 
their  descent. 

The  hcmie  of  my  early  childhood  stands  near  the  l)order 
of  an  inland  lake.  From  its  shores  rise  abruptl}  a  circle  of 
rugged  mountain  sides,  furrowed  l)y  ra\  ines  and  cleft  by 
o-orges  and  valleys,  which  conduct  their  tributary  streams 
from  the  uplands  to  the  basin  beUwv.  Tumblingin  pictur- 
esque cascades  over  precipitous  clifts,  rushing  in  rippling 
currents  over  pebbly  beds,  or  flowing  smoothly  between 
green,  wooded  banks,  the\  all  mingle  at  last  their  liquid 
contributions  with  the  placid  w  aters  of  that  quiet  moimtain 
lake.  Often  ha\e  I  A\atched  this  charming  scene  from 
some  commanding  point  of  view,  and  lieheld.  with  the 
pleasure  of  childhood,  this  ceaseless  gi\ing  and  receiving  in 
the  meeting  of  the  waters. 

When  the  skv  is  clear  overhead,   its   azure    tint  will   be 


49 


reflected,  with,  increased  intensitw  in  tlie.  mij'rgr-like  surface 
t»t".  the  water  hclow;  and  the  niinghng  currents  from  the 
affluent  streams  will  barel\-  shade  its  shore  line  with  a  taint 
and  milk-like  tVini^e.  But  in  a  storm,  when  the  pourino; 
rain,  chased  l)\  the  ra^int;-  wind,  swells  the  jj^entle  brooklets 
into  roarino-  torrents,  tearing  down  and  carrying  with  them 
whate\er  obstructs  their  passage,  dissolving  the  soil  which 
confines  them,  and  scouring  the  beds  over  which  they  flow, 
then  the  milkv  fringe  on  the  shore  will  change  to  a  rim  of 
deeper  dye,  darkly  outlined  along  the  shore,  but  growing 
fainter,  as  it  widens  and  spreads,  and  finally  melting  again 
bv  imperceptible  degrees  into  the  undisturbed,  unchanged 
and  normal  tint  of  the  central  part  of  the  lake;  and  upon 
the  outer  edge  of  the  agitated  waters  will  at  such  times  float 
the  dril't  and  debris  from  the  mountains  around.  But  a  day 
or  two  of  calm  will  restore  the  normal  aspect.  The  froth 
antl  t'oam  and  the  rubbish  which  came  down  with  the 
torrent,  and  which  floated  conspicuouslv  on  its  crest  antl 
covered  the  surface  of  the  lake,  will  disappear  with  the 
returning  calm;  the  tVothv  scum  whicii  aimlessl\-  drifted 
about  in  circling  eddies,  will  drv  and  dissolve:  the  shin\' 
bubbles  will  l)urst  and  the  foam  e\"aporate  in  the  ra\s  of  the 
genial  sun:  the  floating  rul)l>ish  will  be  cast  ashore,  and  the 
stranded  debris  will  deca\'  on  the  beach,  l^ut  the  solid 
matter,  w  hich  was  held  in  teniporarN'  suspense  and  solution 
by  the  current,  will  subside  in  the  c[uiet  waters  of  the  lake, 
and.  precipitated  upon  its  bottom,  liecome.  in  due  course 
of  time,  part  of  the  everlasting  rocks  which  form  its  solid 
and  endiuMug  foundation. 

It  is  customar\'  with  artists,  when  thev  draw  historical 
pictures  in  which  appear  gr(nii)s  of  famous  man,  to  annex; 
marginal  sketches,  giving  in  mere  cnitlines  and  upon  a 
reduced  scale  fac-siniiles  cjf  the  groups  in  the  original,  with 


5« 


the  names  of  the  persons   and  other    exphmatory    notes    and 
references. 

The  ];)'Ktiiie  which  I  lia\  e  attempted  to  draw"  ma\' 
recpure  a  similar  explanatuin ;  liut  all  its  min(ir  features  will 
])ec(>me  clear  in  their  meaning'  and  application  as  soon  as 
von  recos^nize  in  the  (piiet,  pure  antl  placid  nu>untain  lake, 
vonr  own  country — jVmerica.  the  country  of  my  adoption. 


•  CO  ■f^    r—PBWHS^f'^^t  "^  '^  ' 


LK"-. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

325243B38G  C001 

THE  GERMANS  OF  1849  IN  AMERICA  MT.  VERN 


3  01 


2  025284362 


